Recall of State Officials

March 21, 2006

Overview

Recall is a procedure that allows citizens to remove and replace a public official before the end of a term of office. Historically, recall has been used most frequently at the local level. By some estimates, three-fourths of recall elections are at the city council or school board level. This brief, however, focuses only on the recall as it applies to state officials.

Recall differs from another method for removing officials from office - impeachment - in that it is a political device while impeachment is a legal process. Impeachment requires the House to bring specific charges and the Senate to act as a jury. In most of the eighteen recall states, specific grounds are not required, and the recall of a state official is by an election.

Eighteen states permit the recall of state officials:

The District of Columbia also provides for recalls. Virginia is not listed as a recall state because its process, while requiring citizen petitions, allows a recall trial rather than an election. In at least 29 states (some sources place this number at 36), recall elections may be held in local jurisdictions.

History
 

The recall device began in the United States in a municipality -- Los Angeles -- in 1903. Michigan and Oregon, in 1908, were the first states to adopt recall procedures for state officials; Minnesota was the most recent (1996).

Pros and Cons

Proponents of the recall maintain that it provides a way for citizens to retain control over elected officials who are not representing the best interests of their constituents, or who are unresponsive or incompetent. This view holds that an elected representative is an agent, a servant and not a master.

Opponents argue that it can lead to an excess of democracy, that the threat of a recall election lessens the independence of elected officials, that it undermines the principle of electing good officials and giving them a chance to govern until the next election, and that it can lead to abuses by well-financed special interest groups.

Use of the Recall

Recall attempts at the state level have been singularly unsuccessful.  Prior to California's 2003 recall election, the only successful recall of a governor to date took place in North Dakota in 1921, when voters removed from office not only Governor Lynn J. Frazier, but also the attorney general and the commissioner of agriculture. California voters have initiated 32 gubernatorial recall attempts since 1911, but the 2003 recall of Governor Gray Davis in 2003 was the first to ever reach the ballot. In 1988, Arizona voters filed enough signatures to trigger a recall election for Governor Evan Mecham, but he was impeached by the state's House of Representatives before the date of the scheduled recall election.

Recall efforts against state legislators are slightly more common, but still unusual.  Prior to Californias' 2003 recall election, the only sucessfull recall In California, where 107 recall efforts were initiated from 1911 to 1994, only four qualified for the ballot. A state senator was recalled in 1913. In 1914, one senator was recalled and another survived a recall attempt. Not until 1994 was another state recall election held, and the senator involved in that attempt - David Roberti - won 59 percent of the vote. In 1995, two Assembly members were recalled. Recall efforts against two Michigan state senators in 1983 were successful - for the first time in that state's history. An Oregon state legislator was recalled in 1988.

The recall is used much more often at the local level of government than at the state level. At least 36 states permit the recall of local officials.

The language in Michigan's constitution, however, is more typical and acknowledges the political nature of recall efforts: "The sufficiency of any statement of reasons or grounds...shall be a political rather than a judicial question." (Const. Art. II §8)

The recall process is similar to that for initiatives in that citizen petitions are required. The number of signatures necessary to qualify a recall petition, however, is significantly higher than for initiatives. Signature requirements are based on a formula, generally a percentage of the vote in the last election for the office in question, although some states base the formula on the number of eligible voters or other variants. Whatever the formula, the signature requirements are high: 25 percent in nine states; 25 percent for statewide offices and 35 percent for legislators in Washington; one-third in Louisiana; and 40 percent in Kansas. California's requirements are 12 percent for statewide offices; 20 percent for legislators and appellate judges. Georgia requires 15 percent for statewide offices; 30 percent for all others. Idaho's requirement is 20 percent for all offices. Montana has the lowest number of required signatures - 10 percent for statewide officials and 15 percent for state district offices such as legislative districts.

The Recall Election

In the six states where the election for a successor is held simultaneously with the recall election, the election is handled in two ways. In California and Colorado, the first question on the ballot is whether the official should be recalled. Voters are then asked to vote for a candidate for the office; the official who is the subject of the recall may not be listed among these candidates candidate. In the other states using the simultaneous model, the submission and certification of the recall petition essentially triggers a special election for the office, and the recall ballot consists of a list of candidates for the office. The name of the official who is the subject of the recall may appear on the ballot along with other nominees. In fact, in Arizona and Wisconsin, the name of the official being recalled is automatically placed on the recall ballot for reelection.

In the remaining 12 states, the recall ballot contains only the question of whether or not the official should be recalled. If the majority vote is "yes" for recall, the office is declared vacant and is filled at a special election or as otherwise provided by law, which in some states is by appointment for the remainder of the term. The chart below details how the recall election is conducted in each state.

1) In these states, the recall ballot consists of a list of candidates for the office held by the person against whom the recall petition was filed. The name of the officer against whom the recall was filed may appear on the ballot for reelection.

2) In these states, the recall ballot consists of two parts. The first asks whether the officer against whom the recall petition was filed should be recalled. The second part consists of a list of candidates who have qualified for the election. The name of the officer against whom the recall petition was filed may not appear on this list.

3) The governor appoints a successor who must be a member of the same political party as the officeholder recalled, and must be selected from a list submitted by a committee of the political party of the person recalled.

4) If vacancy occurs within 85 days of the general election in the second year of the term (terms are for four years), the county board of commissioners appoints a successor to serve until the election.

5) County board of commissioners appoints a person from a list submitted by a committee of the political party of the person recalled.

Constitutional & Statutory Cites for Recall

For More Information

For more information please contact Jennie Drage Bowser in NCSL's Denver office.