I'll get to the other hidden-camera sequence shortly, but first let's take stock of the real-life comedy being played out here in California where I live. As you may have heard, Gov. Newsom, a talented, photogenic, 53-year-old Democrat who took office in 2019, faces a recall election Sept. 14.

This exercise will cost citizens an estimated $276 million, for no meaningful purpose other than to fan the flames of political hatred in a state that is heavily progressive but so populous that it still has over 5 million registered Republicans. The number of signatures needed to trigger a recall election is based on turnout in the prior election, and this year the requirement is roughly 1.5 million.

Democrats control both houses of the legislature as well as the statehouse, but Republicans have enough muscle to make pests of themselves via California's recall law.

The measure was enacted in 1911 and since then 179 elected officials have faced recalls, but only once before has the process led to an actual gubernatorial election. That was in 2003 when Democrat Gray Davis was ousted and Arnold Schwarzenegger got the job. Unlike, say, an impeachment, involving actual allegations of malfeasance, California recalls require no charges whatsoever – just signatures and sour grapes.

Gavin Newsom was a superstar in the early days of the pandemic. His daily coronavirus briefingswere reassuring, and his state seemed, at first, to be a model for how to control COVID-19; Newsom was praised for issuing the first statewide stay-at-home order. But by summer 2020 the virus worsened in California and Newsom seemed to lose control.

Newsom found himself squeezed between powerful business interests that were suffering under pandemic restrictions, and the state's vast minority population – many of them migrant farm workers – who were being disproportionately affected by the virus. For a while, California did poorly incoordinating vaccinations for its roughly 40 million residents.

Often mentioned as a Democrat headed for national office, Newsom made a serious misstep last November when he and his wife were photographed violating his own sheltering orders by dining, without masks, at a posh restaurant in Napa. That incident motivated opponents and the recall effort gathered steam.

All that's required to run is 65 signatures and a roughly $4,000 filing fee, or 7,000 signatures in lieu of cash. And as we found with "Candid Camera," getting folks to sign a recall petition is ludicrously simple. When Schwarzenegger won in 2003, his was one of 135 names on the ballot.

This year's final lineup, announced after Friday's deadline, includes 41 Newsom challengers. Among them are Caitlyn Jenner, the transgender star of the 1976 Olympics and Kardashian reality TV, and Kevin Paffrath, the financial adviser with nearly 1.7 million YouTube subscribers.

Lately, Californians in both parties would have to concede that things are going pretty well. There is a large fiscal surplus and California is back among the more successful states in dealing with COVID-19, although recent spread of the Delta variant has prompted new concern and a renewed indoor mask mandate in Los Angeles. Polling in May by the Public Policy Institute showed 57% of Californians opposed the recall.

The entire exercise would be a forgone farce were it not for the fact that turnout is likely to be very low, and the most energized voters are those who want to oust the governor. Which is why Newsom is raising as much campaign money as he can – over $28 million to date, including an eye-opening $3 million kicked in by Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings.

Plus, people tend to dislike politicians, even the ones in their own party. They're enamored of the recall process and the power it bestows. But it makes little sense, as I learned back when Gov. Davis lost his recall election. On that occasion I sent my daughter, Stephanie, and her friend Rebecca to gather signatures for a fake recall concocted by "Candid Camera."

Standing near their high school in California, they petitioned to remove the principal and other staff, including a math teacher. "She gives too much homework!" they insisted. "The tests are way too hard."

I laughed that day, but I wished the folks in our sequence would grow up. Not the kids; they didn't fall for it at all. I mean the adults, who for no good reason were only too happy – and foolish enough – to sign.

To view the high school recall clip, click here. The New York recall clip is here.

(c) Peter Funt. This column originally appeared in USA Today.