NEW ORLEANS — Organizers with the NOLATOYA.org campaign to recall New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell say they are ‘within reach’ of their signature goal.
The Times-Picayune | New Orleans Advocate reports that organizers of the grassroots recall effort say they are just 1,029 signatures shy of the nearly 50,000 signatures needed to recall the mayor. The deadline for the signatures is Wednesday, February 22. If successful, the campaign would force a vote on whether Cantrell should remain in office.
Cantrell has three more years left in her term-limited second term in office.
The latest number of signatures represents a leap forward from the organizers’ last update of approximately 39,000 signatures back in January.
However, the campaign organizers admit, simply meeting the minimum number of signatures of 20% of registered voters might not be enough as there is a chance some of the signatures could be deemed invalid by the Orleans Parish Registrar of Voters.
The recall committee estimates it needs an additional 9,000 signatures to overcome any signatures that may be invalidated by the registrar.
As the deadline for signatures nears, the campaign has made a real effort in gathering signatures with its TV advertisements, mailed fliers, and signing events at festivals and public events.