What will happen if Alameda Co. DA Price, Oakland Mayor Thao are recalled?

ALAMEDA COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) -- For the past year, those for and against the recall of Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price and Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao have stated their cases. On Tuesday, it will be up to voters.

"The recall at the state level is actually pretty rare. It's not used very often," said David McCuan, professor of Political Science at Sonoma State University. "But at the local level, even in states that don't have a statewide recall process, we see the recall used as kind of a gun-behind-the-door -- a threat, if you will -- factor."

McCuan said if either of the two elected officials are ousted, the mechanism to replace them is quite different.

In the recall of DA Price, it's a two-step process.

A state law passed in 2022 to realign the district attorney race with presidential election years, means Price has a six-year term that ends in 2028.

RELATED: Alameda County DA Pamela Price fights off recall as Election Day nears

If Price is recalled, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors would appoint her successor, who would serve two years until the next general election in 2026. Whoever is elected in 2026 would fill out the rest of the term until 2028.

McCuan said what is unclear is just how fast the Board of Supervisors would move.

"Generally, the board will have a meeting within two weeks of the November election. And that's an important element, because we may not have certification yet for Alameda County," McCuan said. "California has 30 days to certify."

He expects a decision would likely be made by the beginning of January.

When it comes the Oakland mayor seat, McCuan said that could be much messier.

RELATED: Oakland Mayor Thao says recall campaign will cost taxpayers millions amid possible budget cuts

"And this is one of subtle nuance messaging Mayor Thao is putting out there, is like, 'Look, if I am recalled, there is a mess behind me about what happens,'" McCuan said.

If Thao is recalled, Thao would remain in office until the vote is certified, which could be by mid-December. Oakland City Council President Nikki Fortunato Bas would take over as interim mayor. A special election must be called within 120 days from when Thao steps down. That special election could happen as late as April.

But complicating the process is that Fortunato Bas is running for Alameda County Board of Supervisors District 5. If she wins, she will take office in January. That means Oakland's Pro-Tempore, essentially the city's vice mayor, would take over as city council president and become the next interim mayor until the special election.

"Maybe there is some interim period that takes us even into February, and then you have that 120-day period that could kick off. Nonetheless, you are looking at a five to six month period in Oakland city politics where you could literally see four mayors in about five months," McCuan said.

In a statement to ABC7 News, Alameda County Registrar of Voters' Tim Dupuis said it has received 270,000 votes as of Saturday. That's 28% of Alameda County Voters. Dupuis expects an 80% voter turnout for this general election.