The recent recall effort to retire Governor Gavin Newsom of California seemingly went up in smoke due to what appears to be a crushing defeat, but was that defeat artificially fortified by election manipulation? On election night on September 14, the mainstream media was quick to proclaim that Newsom survived the recall in stunning fashion, but why so fast? The actual tallies had not been completed for the day of voting. So, the results were based upon all the mailed-in ballots from the previous days--not based upon the people who actually went to the polls to vote in person on election day. And, in one of the most populous counties in California, the in-person voters decided that Gavin Newsom should be recalled.