Exit polls show coronavirus, homelessness top concerns for California voters


Voters have been turning out to polling sites across California to vote in Tuesday's recall election, but millions mailed in their ballots ahead of time or visited early voting sites.
As of Monday, 8.7 million ballots were returned by mail and 324,000 were cast at early voting centers, CBS News reports. The election data firm L2 says that 52 percent of these early ballots were from registered Democrats and 25 percent from registered Republicans. This was expected, as there are more Democrats than Republicans in the state and Republicans tend to show up for in-person voting. Ballots were sent to voters in August.
California voters are deciding whether to keep or oust Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), and a Berkeley IGS poll released Friday showed that among likely voters, 60.1 percent would vote "no" on the recall compared to 38.5 percent who would vote "yes." There are 46 candidates hoping to replace Newsom, and if more than 50 percent of voters decide he should be removed from office, the candidate who received the most votes — even if it's only a small percentage — will take office.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
CBS News reports that early exit poll data shows that for those voting no on the recall, their top concern is the coronavirus, while those who are voting yes on the recall are more concerned with homelessness and the economy. Among early voters, only a third had a favorable view of the leading Republican candidate, conservative radio talk show host Larry Elder.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Political cartoons for October 18
Cartoons Saturday's editorial cartoons include conversion therapy, Russ Vought, and more
-
President Trump: ‘waging war’ on Chicago
Talking Point Federal agents are carrying out ‘increasingly aggressive’ immigration raids – but have sanctuary cities like Chicago brought it on themselves?
-
Crossword: October 18, 2025
The Week's daily crossword puzzle
-
DOJ indicts John Bolton over classified files
Speed Read Continuing the trend of going after his political enemies, Trump prosecutes his former national security adviser
-
Trump, Putin set summit as Zelenskyy lands in DC
Speed Read Trump and Putin have agreed to meet in Budapest soon to discuss ending the war in Ukraine
-
Courts deal setbacks to Trump’s Chicago operations
Speed Read President Donald Trump cannot deploy the National Guard in Illinois
-
Pentagon reporters turn in badges after refusing rules
Speed Read They refused to sign a restrictive new press policy imposed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
-
Supreme Court points to gutting Voting Rights Act
speed read States would no longer be required to consider race when drawing congressional maps
-
Trump says he authorized covert CIA ops in Venezuela
Speed Read He is also considering military strikes inside the country
-
‘Vile, racist’ leaked chats roil Young Republicans
Speed Read Leaders of Young Republican groups made racist, antisemitic and violent comments in private chats
-
Trump ties $20B Argentina bailout to Milei votes
speed read Trump will boost Argentina’s economy — if the country’s right-wing president wins upcoming elections