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Councilmember Sawant’s team announces new strategy to defeat recall campaign

Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant’s team announced a new strategy to defeat a recall campaign opposing her.

Sawant’s campaign wants to collect enough signatures to force the recall vote on the November ballot.

The recall campaign is targeting a special election in February.

Sawant said fewer people vote in special elections, and her side would have a better chance of defeating the recall campaign if the actual vote was on the November ballot.

Sawant called what the recall campaign is doing is voter suppression.

“They want to win a special election because they don’t want ordinary working people to vote. They know Black people, working-class people, young people typically vote in dramatically lower numbers in special elections,” Sawant said in part during a rally she recently held.

Those with the recall Sawant campaign said they have until October 19, to collect enough signatures for a special election, and said they are working tirelessly to get on the November ballot in order to give everyone in District 3 a chance to vote.

So far, the recall campaign has collected more than 9,000 signatures in seven weeks, but needs to collect 10,739 signatures by Aug. 1 in order to get on the November ballot.