Recall of State Officials

Overview

Recall is a procedure that allows citizens to remove and replace a public official before the official’s term of office ends. 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 webpage, however, focuses on the recall only as it applies to state officials. For more information on state laws on local recalls, see Local Recalls.

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 typically requires a state legislature’s lower chamber to bring specific charges, and the upper chamber to act as the jury in an impeachment trial. In contrast, in most of the 19 recall states specific grounds for recall are not required, and the recall of a state official is accomplished through an election.

Nineteen states plus the District of Columbia permit the recall of state officials:

Recall of State Officials
Alaska	Illinois	New Jersey
Arizona	Kansas	North Dakota
California	Louisiana	Oregon
Colorado	Michigan	Rhode Island
District of Columbia	Minnesota	Washington
Georgia	Montana	Wisconsin
Idaho	Nevada

Source: National Conference of State Legislatures

All these states lay out the right to recall elected officials in their constitutions, with the exception of Montana, where the right to recall is found only in state statutes. Additionally, each recall state except Illinois and Rhode Island further explains its recall processes in state statutes. A full citation list of these laws is below.

Currently, only these 19 states allow recall elections of statewide elected officials, but other states have recently considered establishing recall procedures. Between 2015 and 2019, legislatures in several states considered bills that would allow for recall elections of state and local officials. For example, in 2017 and 2018, recall election legislation failed to pass the New York and West Virginia legislatures, and legislation that would have allowed recall of state legislators failed to pass the Illinois General Assembly. In 2019, legislation that would have provided for recall of any elected official in Connecticut failed to pass the General Assembly. Also in 2019, the Oklahoma House of Representatives introduced a bill that would allow citizens to petition for the recall of any elected official in the state.

Virginia has a process that is similar to recall, but it is not listed here as a recall state because its process, while requiring citizen petitions, calls for a recall trial rather than an election. In Virginia, after a petition containing the required number of signatures is verified, a circuit court decides whether a Virginia official will be removed from office. In the recall states, the voters decide in an election.

Recall of Local Officials

In at least 30 states (some sources place this number at 38), recall elections may be held in local jurisdictions.

History and Use of the Recall in the U.S.

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 (1996) and New Jersey (1993) were the most recent.

Historically, recall attempts at the state level have been largely unsuccessful. The recall is used much more often, and with more success, at the local level.

There have been many attempts to recall governors throughout U.S. history, but only four have gathered enough petition signatures to trigger recall elections. In 2021, California Governor Gavin Newsom will face a recall election on Sept. 14. In 2012, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker survived a recall election. In 2003, California voters successfully recalled Governor Gray Davis, and in North Dakota in 1921, voters successfully recalled not only Governor Lynn J. Frazier, but also the attorney general and the commissioner of agriculture. In 1988, Arizona voters submitted enough signatures to trigger a recall election for Governor Evan Mecham, but he was impeached by the state's House of Representatives before the scheduled recall election.

Recall efforts against state legislators are more common, but still unusual. Recall attempts against legislators have gathered enough signatures to trigger an election just 39 times. Eleven of those occurred in a single year, 2011. Forty-five percent of all legislative recall elections that have ever occurred were held between 2011 and 2013. However, only eight of those 17 elections succeeded in unseating a legislator. Overall, 55% of legislative recall elections have succeeded in unseating a legislator. Additionally, two legislators resigned after petitions with sufficient signatures to force recall elections against them were submitted. Many more recall efforts are started and never make it to the election stage; either they are abandoned by their sponsors, or they fail to gather enough valid petition signatures to trigger an election. For example, in 2019 in Colorado, a petition to recall Representative Rochelle Galindo was approved for circulation, but Galindo resigned from office before the petitions were turned in. Because she resigned, a recall election was not held and a vacancy committee from Galindo’s party selected her successor.

All Recall Elections Held in the U.S. for State Legislators

The following is a list of every recall election of a state legislator throughout U.S. history. The fact that these elections occurred means that, in each of the following cases, enough signatures were gathered on petitions to trigger a recall election. Officials on this list who "survived recall election" are people who were not voted out of office in the subsequent recall election. Officials who were "successfully recalled" on this list are people who were voted out of office in that election.

• 1913 California State Senator Marshall Black: successfully recalled.
• 1914 California State Senator Edwin Grant: successfully recalled.
• 1914 California State Senator James Owens: survived recall election.
• 1932 Wisconsin State Senator Otto Mueller: survived recall election.
• 1935 Oregon State Representative Harry Merriam: successfully recalled.
• 1971 Idaho State Senator Fisher Ellsworth: successfully recalled.
• 1971 Idaho State Representative Aden Hyde: successfully recalled.
• 1981 Washington State Senator Peter von Reichbauer: survived recall election.
• 1983 Michigan State Senator Phil Mastin: successfully recalled.
• 1983 Michigan State Senator David Serotkin: successfully recalled. (Technically he resigned from office before the results of the recall election were certified, but the results were sufficient to recall him.)
• 1985 Oregon State Representative Pat Gillis: successfully recalled.
• 1988 Oregon State Senator Bill Olson: successfully recalled.
• 1990 Wisconsin Assembly member Jim Holperin: survived recall election.
• 1994 California State Senator David Roberti: survived recall election.
• 1995 California Assembly member Paul Horcher:  successfully recalled.
• 1995 California Assembly member Michael Machado: survived recall election.
• 1995 California Assembly member Doris Allen: successfully recalled.
• 1996 Wisconsin State Senator George Petak: successfully recalled.
• 2003 Wisconsin State Senator Gary George: successfully recalled.
• 2008 California State Senator Jeff Denham: survived recall election.
• 2008 Michigan House Speaker Andy Dillon: survived recall election.
• 2011 Wisconsin State Senators Robert Cowles, Alberta Darling, Dave Hansen, Sheila Harsdorf, Jim Holperin, Luther Olsen and Robert Wirch: survived recall elections.
• 2011: Wisconsin State Senators Randy Hopper and Dan Kapanke: successfully recalled.
• 2011 Arizona Senate President Russell Pearce: successfully recalled.
• 2011 Michigan State Representative Paul Scott: successfully recalled.
• 2012 Wisconsin State Senators Van Wanggaard and Pam Galloway: successfully recalled. (Senator Pam Galloway resigned earlier in the year when enough signatures were gathered to trigger a recall election against her. Even though her name wasn't on the ballot, a recall election was still held for her seat.)
• 2012 Wisconsin Senate Republican leader Scott Fitzgerald and Senator Terry Moulton: survived recall elections.
• 2013 Colorado Senate President John Morse and Senator Angela Giron: successfully recalled.
• 2018 California State Senator Josh Newman: successfully recalled.

Pros and Cons of the Recall

Supporters of the recall process believe it provides a way for citizens to exercise control over elected officials who fail to represent their constituents’ best interests, or who are unresponsive or incompetent. This view maintains that an elected representative is an agent or a servant of their constituents, not their master.

Opponents argue that recalls can lead to an excess of democracy: That the threat of a recall election lessens the independence of elected officials; undermines the principle of electing good officials and giving them a chance to govern; and can be abused by well-financed special interest groups and give them undue influence over the political process.

How the Recall Process Works

The recall process varies in its details from one state to another, but in general, recall campaigns follow these steps:

1.  File an application to circulate a recall petition (some states allow petitions only if they contain certain grounds for recall).

2.  Circulate a recall petition and gather a specified number of signatures in a specified period of time (view the detailed petitioning requirements).

3.  Submit petitions to election officials for verification of signatures.

4. If enough valid signatures are presented, hold a recall election.

Grounds for Recall

In most of the recall states, any registered voter can begin a recall campaign for any reason. The language in Michigan's constitution is typical of most states: “The sufficiency of any statement of reasons or grounds ... shall be a political rather than a judicial question.” (Const. Art. II §8) Indeed, recall campaigns are often politically motivated. For example, in 2011, Republican senators in Wisconsin faced recalls for supporting the governor's effort to reduce the influence of public employee unions, and in Arizona, a senator faced recall for sponsoring a controversial immigration bill.

Specific grounds for recall are required in only eight states:

Grounds for Recall

Alaska:  Lack of fitness, incompetence, neglect of duties or corruption (AS §15.45.510)

Georgia:  Act of malfeasance or misconduct while in office; violation of oath of office; failure to perform duties prescribed by law; willfully misused, converted, or misappropriated, without authority, public property or public funds entrusted to or associated with the elective office to which the official has been elected or appointed. Discretionary performance of a lawful act or a prescribed duty shall not constitute a ground for recall of an elected public official. (Ga. Code §21-4-3(7) and 21-4-4(c))

Kansas: Conviction for a felony, misconduct in office, incompetence, or failure to perform duties prescribed by law. No recall submitted to the voters shall be held void because of the insufficiency of the grounds, application, or petition by which the submission was procured. (KS Stat. §25-4301)

Minnesota:  Serious malfeasance or nonfeasance during the term of office in the performance of the duties of the office or conviction during the term of office of a serious crime (Const. Art. VIII §6)

Montana:  Physical or mental lack of fitness, incompetence, violation of oath of office, official misconduct, conviction of certain felony offenses (enumerated in Title 45). No person may be recalled for performing a mandatory duty of the office he holds or for not performing any act that, if performed, would subject him to prosecution for official misconduct. (Mont. Code §2-16-603)

Rhode Island:  Authorized in the case of a general officer who has been indicted or informed against for a felony, convicted of a misdemeanor, or against whom a finding of probable cause of violation of the code of ethics has been made by the ethics commission (Const. Art. IV §1)

Virginia:  Neglect of duty, misuse of office, or incompetence in the performance of duties when that neglect of duty, misuse of office, or incompetence in the performance of duties has a material adverse effect upon the conduct of the office, or upon conviction of a drug-related misdemeanor or a misdemeanor involving a "hate crime" (§24.2-233)

Washington:  Commission of some act or acts of malfeasance or misfeasance while in office, or who has violation of oath of office (Const. Art. I §33)

Source: National Conference of State Legislatures, May 2019

In 2012, Michigan passed a law requiring that a recall petition must clearly and factually state the reason(s) for the recall, which must be based on the elected official's conduct during his or her term of office (M.C.L. §168.951A). This differs from the specific grounds required in some other states, as Michigan’s new requirement will not necessarily eliminate politically-motivated recalls. For example, under this Michigan law a voter could initiate a recall against a legislator on the political grounds that the legislator voted against an issue the voter supports. As long as that allegation is stated clearly and factually, it would presumably meet this new criteria.

Circulating a Recall Petition

The recall process is similar to the ballot initiative process in that it requires the submission of citizen petitions. The number of signatures necessary to trigger a recall election, however, is often significantly higher than the number required for ballot initiatives. The required number of signatures is generally equal to 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 numbers. These requirements can be demanding and are listed in the table below.

	Who Can Be Recalled	Signature Requirement	Circulation Time
Alaska	All elected public officers of the state except judicial officers	25% of the votes cast in the state or in the senate or house district in the last election for the official being recalled	Not specified
Arizona	Every public officer in the state holding an elective office	25% of the votes cast in the last election for the official being recalled	120 days
California	State officers, members of the legislature, judges of courts of appeal	For statewide officers: 12% of the last vote for the office, with signatures from each of five counties equal in number to 1% of the last vote for the office in the county State Senators, members of the Assembly, members of the Board of Equalization, judges of courts of appeal: 20% of the votes cast in the last election for the official being recalled	160 days for jurisdictions with more than 50,000 registered voters (circulation time decreases as number of registered voters decreases)
Colorado	Every elective officer of the state	25% of the votes cast in the last election for the official being recalled	60 days
Georgia	Public officials who hold elective office	For statewide officers: 15% of registered voters for office at time of last election, 1/15 from each congressional district in the state Others: 30% of registered voters for office at time of last election	90 days
Idaho	Every public officer in the state except judicial officers	20% of registered voters for office at time of last election	60 days
Illinois	Governor	15% of the votes cast for governor in the preceding general election from each of at least 25 counties Also required are the signatures from at least 20 members of the House of Representatives and 10 members of the Senate, with no more than half the signatures of members of each chamber from the same political party.	150 days
Kansas	All elected public officers in the state except judicial officers	40% of the votes cast in the last election for the official being recalled	90 days
Louisiana	Any state official except judges of the courts of record	If fewer than 1,000 eligible voters: 40% of eligible voters in the same voting area as the official being recalled If more than 1,000 but fewer than 25,000 eligible voters: 33.3% of eligible voters in voting area If more than 25,000 but fewer than 100,000 eligible voters: 25% of eligible voters in voting area If more than 100,000 eligible voters: 20% of eligible voters in voting area	180 days
Michigan	All elective officers except judges of the courts of record	25% of total votes cast for governor in the officer’s electoral district at last election	60 days
Minnesota	State executive officers, legislators, and judges of the supreme court, court of appeals or a district court	25% of total votes cast for position at last election	90 days
Montana	Any person holding a public office of the state	For statewide officers: 10% of eligible voters for office at time of last election For district officers: 15% of eligible voters for office at time of last election	3 months
Nevada	Every public officer in the state (although elected judges are an exception, based on a 2017 Nevada Supreme Court decision in Ramsey v. City of North Las Vegas)	25% of the votes cast in the last election for the official being recalled	90 days   All signatures collected in the first 45 days must be submitted by the 48th day. All signatures collected after the 45th day must be submitted by the 90th day.
New Jersey	Any elected official in the state or representing the state in the U.S. Congress	25% of the registered voters in the electoral district of the official sought to be recalled	Governor or U.S. Senator:  320 days All others:  160 days
North Dakota	Any elected official of the state or legislative district	25% of the votes cast for governor in the officer’s electoral district in the last election	Not specified
Oregon	Every public officer in the state	15% of total votes cast in officer's district for all candidates for governor in the last election	90 days
Rhode Island	Governor, Lt. Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Attorney General	15% of total votes cast for said office in last general election	90 days
Washington	Every elective public officer of the state except judges of courts of record	For statewide officers: 25% of the votes cast in the last election for the official being recalled Others: 35% of the votes cast in the last election for the official being recalled	Statewide officers:  270 days Others:  180 days
Wisconsin	Any state, judicial, congressional or legislative official	25% of total votes cast for the office of governor at the last election within the same district or territory of that officer being recalled	60 days

Source: National Conference of State Legislatures, May 2019

The Recall Election

In seven states, the election for a successor is held simultaneously with the recall election.

In California and Colorado, the ballot includes two questions. The first question 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 among the listed candidates. If a majority votes "yes" on the recall question, then the incumbent is recalled and the successor is elected via the second part of the ballot. If a majority votes "no" on the recall question, the incumbent remains in office and the second portion of the ballot is moot.

In the other states using the simultaneous model (Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, North Dakota and Wisconsin), 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, Michigan, North Dakota and Wisconsin, the name of the official being recalled is automatically placed on the recall ballot for reelection unless the official resigns from office.

In the remaining 12 states, the recall ballot contains only the question of whether the official should be recalled. If the majority votes 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.

Recall Election Held Simultaneously With Election for Successor	Recall Election Followed by Separate Special Election for Successor	Recall Election; Successor is Appointed
Arizona1	Georgia	Alaska
California2	Louisiana	Idaho3
Colorado2	Minnesota	Kansas3
Michigan	Montana4	Oregon
Nevada1	New Jersey	Washington5
North Dakota1	Rhode Island
Wisconsin1	Illinois

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 re-election.

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. Note that courts in both states have ruled that a voter's choice of candidate on the second part of the ballot must be counted regardless of whether the person cast a vote on the recall question first.

3) The governor appoints a successor who must be a member of the same political party as the recalled officeholder, 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 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.

Recall Provisions in State Constitutions and Statutes

Alaska – Const. Art. 11, §8; AS §15.45.470-710, 15.80.010, 29.26.240-350

Arizona - Const. Art. 8, §1-6; Ariz. Rev. Stat. §19-201 – 19-234

California – Const. Art. 2, §13-19; CA Election Code §11000-11386

Colorado – Const. Art. 21; Colo. Rev. Stat. §1-12-101 – 1-12-123, 31-4-501 – 31-4-505, 32-1-906 – 32-1-915

Georgia – Const. Art. 2, §2.4; Ga. Code §21-4-1 et seq.

Idaho – Const. Art. 6, §6; Idaho Code §34-1701 – 34-1715

Illinois - Const. Art. 3. §7

Kansas – Const. Art. 4, §3; KSA §25-4301 – 25-4331

Louisiana – Const. Art. 10, §26; La. Stats. Ann. §18:1300.1 – 18:1300.17

Michigan – Const. Art. 2, §8; Mich. Election Law §168.951 – 168.977

Minnesota – Const. Art. 8, §6; Minn. Stat. Ann. §211C.01 et seq.

Montana – Mont. Code § 2-16-601 – 2-16-635

Nevada – Const. Art. 2, §9; Nev. Rev. Stat. Ch. 294A.006, Ch. 306, Ch. 539.163 – 539.185

New Jersey – Const. Art. 1, §2(b); NJ Rev. Stat. Ann. § 19:27A-1 – 19:27A-18

North Dakota – Const. Art. 3, §1 and 10; ND Century Code Ann. §16.1-01-09.1, 44-08-21

Oregon – Const. Art. 2, §18; Or. Rev. Stat. Ch. 249.865 – 249.877

Rhode Island – Const. Art. 4, §1

Virginia - Va. Code §24.2-233 – 24.2.238

Washington – Const. Art. 1, Sec. 33-34; Wash. Rev. Code §29A.56.110 – 29A.56.270

Wisconsin – Const. Art. 13, §12; Wis. Stat. Ann. §9.10

Additional Resources

See also: Recall of Local Officials