Following a huge protest and the massive amount of recall efforts against Kuomintang (KMT) officials, the KMT Chair Eric Chu is now calling for President Lai Ching-te to face a recall effort, though there is no chance it will move forward..
Lai cannot be recalled in the first year (so that would start on May 20). The petition would need 1/4th of the legislators to sign on, and then the vote of 2/3rds to move forward
Signatures have been turned in against Purcellville Mayor Christopher Bertaut, Vice Mayor Ben Nett and Councilmember Susan Khalil and Carol Luke. The recall is reportedly over a vote to get rid of the police department, a firing of the town manager and replacement with a former mayor. Nett was apparently fired from the police department days before the vote. The officials fault the minority on the board for the issues.
Petitioners handed in about 1200 signatures each and need 494 per official.
Petitions have been taken out against Scotts Bluff County Commissioner Charlie Knapper over alleged issues with a county employee.
Petitioners need 595 signatures in 30 days.
Petitioners have claimed to handed in 60,000 signatures for the recall of Jackson County Executive Frank White -- (yes, the Royals former All-Star 2nd Baseman), though they need (or needed -- I'm not clear) to raise $150,000 to get the petitioners to hand it in.
The recall is over complaints that property taxes are going up between 30% - 400%. There is a complaint that White's salary went up 7%. A recall was threatened last year as well. White says that it was over his vote against a Stadium, and the leaders of the petition (who owe $150,000 for polling), are contractors who wanted a yes vote.
Three legislators have asked the Attorney General for an investigation into White
Petitioners would need 42,902 valids to get on the ballot.
Wrightstown President Angela Hansen-Winker was ousted in a recall, losing 1019- 456 to Nicole Verbetento on April 22.
The recall is over claims that she misused legal counsel and mishandled a superintendent investigation.
Fellow school board member Rayn Warner is leading the recall effort. Another board member Tiffany Van Vreede is mentioned as a supporter as well.
The Wrightstown School Board Clerk has resigned right before the recall vote. Petitioners handed in 1200 signatures, not sure how many were needed or were verified.
Freedom Select Board member Heather Donahue was ousted in an April 23rd recall vote, 122-91.
Donahue, famous for her leading role in "The Blair Witch Project," faced the recall over whether a road that a family has claimed has public access or not (Donahue has argued that it does). The petitioners are complaining that Donahue cut brush and trimming on the road and used orange spray paint to mark trees on the public easement.
There are also issues of complaints about the old board (Donahue was elected last year), including late IRS payments and budget confusion, so this may be part of an old residents vs. new residents fight.
Another Selectman, Ryan Willette, resigned, which means the board no longer has a quorum. Petitioners handed in 73 signatures and needed 46 valids.
Camas City Council John Svilarich is facing a recall effort, with a judge set to a hold a hearing on whether petitions can move forward under Washington's malfeasance standard.. Svilarich was arrested on criminal assault and reckless endangerment charges, after an argument over the disposal of a cigarette butt led to a rock throwing and a gun being pulled.
Among the lead petitioners are Svilarich's opponent in the last election, a losing mayoral candidate and the husband of one of the other councilors.
Longterm former Congresswoman Barbara Lee has won the replacement race, with the numbers currently sitting at 53-47% over Loren Taylor, after the ranked choice voting. The race was close, as Taylor led early. Taylor actually led in the 2022 race before losing to former Mayor Sheng Thao due to the ranked choice voting system.
There have been numerous complaints about voter turnout in the special, though notably not much discussion of the fact that the recall vote in November saw a much higher voter turnout than Thao's original election in 2022. And little blame has passed to the legislature for removing the same-day replacement vote.
Turnout seems to be 36% of registered voters.
Four International Falls Council members Pete Kalar, Tim Wegner, Walt Buller and Mike Holden, are facing petitions.
Petitioners are upset about renovations on a new police office, rather than sharing the sheriff's office or using the old center. There's also complaints about other funding issues including a bond for an arena and a stadium and street repairs.
Councilmembers allegedly used slurs in referring to participants at a meeting.
The clerk rejected the petitions, allegedly claiming that signers failed to include birthdates (which does not appear to be required) and the petition did not include a valid reason. Minnesota is a malfeasance standard state, so this could prove to be a significant hurdle, though the courts usually weigh in here.
Petitions have been taken out against four Arizona Republican State House members, Speaker Steve Montenegro, Majority Leader Michael Carbone, Appropriations Chair David Livingston and Representative Matt Gress.
The recall is over delays for a supplemental funding for the Division of Developmental Disabilities.
Petitioners need 25% of turnout by August 15, which is, Gress 34,399, Montenegro, 27,381, Livingston, 26,342, and Carbone, 21,747.
San Fernando Mayor Mary Mendoza and Councilmembers Joel Fajardo and Victoria Garcia are facing recall threats over their votes against becoming a sanctuary city. Petitioners would need 2499 signatures to get on the ballot.
Petitions have been taken out against Falls City Mayor Mark Harkendorff following the resignation of all six members of the City Utilities line crew. Petitions blame "unprofessional" and "insulting" behavior.
Petitioners need 475 signatures.
The recall has been started by former Councilmember Kaylie Ractliffe.
Unity Community Hall and Recreation District Board Member Daniel Davis is facing a recall vote over the use of the hall. Petitioner seems to be complaining about a pop-up pub run by a nonprofit that Davis helped found. Ballots have to be returned by May 6.
123 signatures were turned in.
The Oakland Mayoral Replacement race is shaping up to be a close contest, with City Councilmember Loren Taylor leading former Representative Barbara Lee, though we have quite a ways to go before we know anything. Taylor actually led in the 2022 race before losing to former Mayor Sheng Thao due to the ranked choice voting system.
There have been numerous complaints about voter turnout in the special, though notably not much discussion of the fact that the recall vote in November saw a much higher voter turnout than Thao's original election in 2022. And little blame has passed to the legislature for removing the same-day replacement vote.
Turnout seems to be 36% of registered voters.
Six people were charged (and released on bail) in claims that they falsified signatures in recall efforts against legislators. Notably, they all were allegedly forging signatures against Democratic Progressive Party candidates. Most of the recalls are targeting the Kuomintang candidates.
Recall Elections against South Tucson City Council members Roxanna Valenzuela, Brian Flagg and Cesar Aguirre has been set for August 5th. The recall was originally over claims that Valenzuela does not meet the residency requirement and the other two helped cover it up, though it seems other issues about ignoring the lead petitioner have cropped up.
The leader of the recall effort is current councilmember and former Mayor Paul Diaz led the effort, who also has claims that they bought a motel that seems to be used by the government to put up some people (perhaps coming out of rehab) and their support for Prop. 409, a tax to fund public safety (which passed).
Diaz himself lost a recall vote in 2015 and then came back in 2018 with a recall against other councilmembers and regained the mayoralty.
Diaz got 163 signatures for Flagg, 170 for Aguirre and 173 for Valenzuela.
The Wrightstown School Board Clerk has resigned right before the recall vote against President Angela Hansen-Winker on April 22 (Nicole Verbeten running against her.) The recall is over claims that she misused legal counsel and mishandled a superintendent investigation.
Fellow school board member Rayn Warner is leading the recall effort. Another board member Tiffany Van Vreede is mentioned as a supporter as well.
Petitioners handed in 1200 signatures, not sure how many were needed or were verified.
Lancaster City Clerk has sued the lead petitioners (all 86 signers) in the ongoing recall effort against six-term Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris, claiming that the petition contains false information.
The lead petitioners appear to be two of the people who Parris beat in the election last year, Republican Mark Maldonado and Democrat Johnathon Ervin. Parris won (in a field of 10) 4763 to 3648 for Erivn and 3190 for Maldonado.
Alaska has a malfeasance standard/judicial recall law, but this seems to be another argument in the recent court cases that have weakened the law significantly.
The petition had 41 signatures. No word on how many were accepted.
Delta Junction had a recall in 2001 against Thomas "Roy" Gilbertson and Susan "Susie" Kemp over a private prison construction. Both survived the effort.
Petitions have been taken out against South St. Paul Councilmember Pam Bakken over allegations that a child ingested methamphetamines at Bakken's day care.
Petitioners need 2763 valids in 30 days. Since Minnesota is a malfeasance standard state, a judge will presumably weigh in here.
The recall against Wrightstown School Board President Angela Hansen-Winker is coming up on April 22, with Nicole Verbeten running against her. The recall is over claims that she misused legal counsel and mishandled a superintendent investigation.
Fellow school board member Rayn Warner is leading the recall effort. Another board member Tiffany Van Vreede is mentioned as a supporter as well.
Petitioners handed in 1200 signatures, not sure how many were needed or were verified.
Petitions have been taken out against Joplin Councilmember Ryan Jackson for alleged comments on social media calling gender dysphoria a mental illness.
A new bill would allow the removal of the signatures and addresses from the first Notice of Intention to Recall that is filed in California. The bill is proposed by Senator Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh (R). The bill (SB270) would only require a name, city, state and zip code to be published in a newspaper (though all the regular information would have to be submitted to the clerk.
The names of anyone signing the actual petition are not publicized under California law (though they are under other state laws).
Here's the report, which suggests a law where the city council would put a recall on the ballot.
A nonprofit called Democracy in Action has raised over $180,000 in six months for the recall effort against Jackson County Executive Frank White -- (yes, the Royals Star 2nd Baseman). No word on who is backing the organization.
The recall is over complaints that property taxes are going up between 30% - 400%. There is a complaint that White's salary went up 7%. A recall was threatened last year as well.
Petitioners would need 42,902 valids to get on the ballot.
Petitions have been taken out against Phoenix School Board President Jessica Bueno. The petition notes a slew of reasons, including a move to fire the school superintendent and votes to close two schools. Bueno is also facing complaints about bailing out a "longtime associate" who was later sentenced to a year in jail on a solicitation of a minor charge.
A look at how Mayor Sheng Thao ran the office and the subsequent firing of staff members by the temporary replacement. One of the proposals was to try and get volunteers to disrupt the petition gathering.
Two Bowman Councilmembers Betty Jo Maxwell (106-26) and Leah Carey (106-26) were ousted in a April 8th recall vote. The issue was approval of poultry houses.
There will be a special election to fill the seats within 45 days (presumably of certification). The seats are facing a recall in November.
The recall was previously thrown out because a judge ruled against it. It seemed that it was claims did not meet the state's malfeasance standard grounds, but this article calls the issue procedural.
Loveland Councilmember Erin Black is facing petitions after a confrontation in the park (though it does not sound like it was physical -- though one of the video has claims about it. It's really not clear from the story). The council is calling for her resignation.
The Illinois Senate Executive Committee has moved forward a bill, SB1954, allowing recalls for county officials throughout the state. The proposal would allow the counties to propose recall laws and put it on the ballot in 2026.
The bill, proposed by Senator Doris Turner (D), comes following the shooting of Sonya Massey last year. The Sangamon County Sheriff faced heavy criticism and has since resigned.
The House has passed Senator Kristin Roers' Senate Bill 2269, which looks to increase signature requirements, allow for the cancelation of uncontested elections and require a stated reason approved by the Secretary of State (though it does not sound like a malfeasance standard).
The signature rules would be the same across the state and no longer allow for home rule provisions that have lesser totals. The number would be raised to 35% of turnout in the last election, up from 25% and would also require 15 petitions minimum to be taken out (I've never seen that type of requirement). It would also limit recalls to one a term.
The timeframe for a recall effort would be one year for state level officials and 90 days for others.
The recall followed the odd recall against Dickinson City Councilmember Jason Fridrich, where no one challenged him in the race set to take place on March 11 (though the lead petitioner is planning in running as a write-in), there are now discussions of changing the rules.
Petitions have been taken out against North Slope Borough Assembly President Crawford Patkotak, who is the father of Mayor Josiah Aullaqsruaq Patkotak. Both are facing petitions over complaints over allegedly misusing funds for travel expenses for the mayor's family. The President allegedly did not disclose a personal interest when approving compensation for travel.
Apparently, the salary for the position of the Mayor is over $280,000.
Petitioners need 371 signatures for the mayor and 261 for the Assembly President in 60 days.
This is the second petition filed, the first was rejected due to Alaska's malfeasance standard (which may not be in effect thanks to recent court decisions).
In 2016, a previous Mayor, Charlotte Brower, was kicked out with a recall for sending her grandchildren to a basketball camp in California, among other issues.
The recall effort against Pocatello-Chubbuck School Board Member Raymond Knoff over a vote to close an elementary school over declining enrollment has failed.
Petitioners turned in over 900 signatures and needed 853 valids. It's not clear how many were rejected.
A recall effort is ramping up against Houston Mayor John Whitmire (D) over complaints about incompetence. The one specific policy issue seems to be a water plan.
Petitioners need 63,000 signatures in 30 days (25% of turnout).
Here's an article noting that it is the 100th anniversary of one of the most critical recalls in US history, the successful effort to kick the KKK out of Anaheim. Outside of the Little Rock School Board recalls of 1959, it may be the most consequential.
A really great look by Perry Arrasmith in Hawaiian Business Magazine at how Hawaii's Governor is tasked with appointing officials to fill state legislative vacancies. Note this point on how the 1985 Honolulu City Council recall led to the start of Governor David Ige's career:
Then-Councilmember Patsy T. Mink was outraged and launched a recall campaign against the three new Republicans. All three lost their seats to Democrats in the recall election; two of those Democrats, Arnold Morgado and Donna Mercado Kim, resigned their seats in the State House to serve on the City Council.
In those days, appointees simply had to be registered as members of the Democratic or Republican party – they did not have to be members of their party for at least six months, as is the current rule. James Kumagai, then chair of the state Democratic Party, who had a doctorate in engineering, was charged with generating lists of potential appointees to fill the House vacancies.
For Morgado’s House seat representing Pearl City, the three options were a longtime party worker; the son of an elected official; and a young outsider named David Ige, an electrical engineer with Hawaiian Telephone, now Hawaiian Telcom. But Ige was not a member of the Democratic Party.
And here's a look at how other states operate (and reelection rates):
In the U.S., 25 states hold special elections to fill legislative vacancies; appointment processes in the other 25 states vary, according to Ballotpedia, a nonprofit and online encyclopedia of American politics. Only Hawai‘i has governors choose the appointees from short lists of party-selected candidates.
Ballotpedia also tracks the power of incumbency. In all 50 states, it says it analyzed election results for congressional, state executive, state legislative, state judicial and local offices. According to Ballotpedia, 95% of incumbents running nationwide were reelected in 2024, 94% in 2022 and 93% in 2020.
Among the 82 legislative appointees in Hawai‘i since 1964 that I could confirm, 14 did not run for their seats in the next election. But of those who did run, 49 won and 19 lost – a success rate of 72%.
The recall against Wrightstown School Board President Angela Hansen-Winker has made the ballot for a special election on April 22 (though depending on how many candidates run, it could be a primary, with the final election on May 20), though she is appealing the certification. The recall is over claims that she misused legal counsel and mishandled a superintendent investigation.
Fellow school board member Rayn Warner is leading the recall effort. Another board member Tiffany Van Vreede is mentioned as a supporter as well.
Petitioners handed in 1200 signatures. No word on how many are needed.
Not much detail here, but apparently the issue was excessive and petty fines by Garden Park Village. Just to note that I do not count HOA recalls in the yearly compilation of recalls.
The Washington Supreme Court has upheld (6-3) the judicially approved recall petition against Mabton Mayor Rachel Ruelas. The court ruled that she failed to meet the deadline. Washington is a malfeasance standard state and judges usually toss out recall efforts as not meeting the statutorily delineated reasons for a recall.
The recall effort comes after the former city clerk was accused of allowing her boyfriend to abscond with $22K in checks and cash from the city. There also has been no access to two council agendas or eight recording of meetings. Council members have not seen the budget and there has been trouble with live-streaming meetings.
Petitioners would need 59 signatures in 90 days.
Note that one of the articles notes that recalls are not allowed to be held at the same time as the November general election, which is the opposite of how most states work. I'm not sure about how this works -- it does set dates for local elections and says recalls are excepted. It does specify that recalls can't be held between a primary and general election date. However, it could make the April ballot.
King City Mayor Marc Manelis has resigned after signatures were verified in his recall and a recall was scheduled for April 29th over a reappointment controversy.
Manelis was just recently elected mayor after the recall and removal of four King City officials, Mayor Jaimie Fender and Councilors Kate Mohr, Smart Ocholi and Laurie Petrie last year, as well as the resignation of Micha Paulsen.
Manelis voted to reappoint Ocholi to one of the vacant council seats, which apparently led to the current recall effort. The appointment was found to be unconstitutional, but it seems to have happened regardless and Ocholi seems to be on the council.
There was an attempt to recall Marc Manelis at that time for the 2024 recalls, but no signatures were handed in after a change of heart by the petitioners.
That recall was over their vote for a Master Plan and Transportation System Plan, most notably a development plan for Kingston Terrace. One councilor who voted against the Transportation Plan was not facing a recall effort.
The recall of North Valley County Sewer and Water District Board members Krystal Dickerson and Carl Millerick has made the ballot and is set as a special election on June 3rd, though they have sued to stop in under a claim that the petitions are inadequate and inaccurate.
The recall seems to be about the firing of two general managers.
Montana has a malfeasance standard/judicial recall law, so the petitions focus on claims of alleged theft and incompetence.
Petitioners have submitted their first batch of 1419 signatures for the recall effort against Yakima County Coroner Jim Curtice (R), which has been approved by a judge. Petitioners need 14000 signatures toget on the ballot.
Curtice is facing the recall effort (and calls for his resignation by the Yakima County Republican Party) after he admitted that he "was using drugs found on dead bodies and accusing his chief deputy of trying to poison him to cover it up." So far, no charges have been filed.
The first recall attempt against Curtice was rejected as factually and legally deficient, as it relied on news reports. Washington is a malfeasance standard state, so a showing of a statutorily delineated violation is needed. Here's a look at how the recall process works.
Nigerian Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan is facing a recall effort. Here's an explanation of how the Nigerian recall works, including that the petitioners need more than 50% of the registered voters in the district. They need their Permanent Voter Card number.
Lumberton Township Mayor Gina LaPlaca is facing calls for a resignation or a recall after being arrested on a DUI with a child in the car.
Petitions have been taken out against Valley City Mayor Dave Carlsrud and City Commissioners Duane Magnuson, Mike Bishop, Jeff Erickson and Dick Gulmon.
The recall effort is over alleged complaints about city projects and financial mismanagement, with a focus on the Public Works Service Center.
Poway Councilmember Tony Blain is facing a recall effort after his censure for claims of an attempted vote trade. There are also complaints of bullying, harassment, retaliation and bribery, with a particularly strong response from the City Attorney. Blain argues that contractors and developers are leading the effort. Petitioners need 2500 signatures to get to the ballot.
Poway recalled councilmember Betty Rexford in 2010.
Rick Caruso, the billionaire who ran and lost to Karen Bass in the mayoral election in 2022, has announced his opposition to a recall effort. However, that is a long way from announcing that he will not run in the replacement race.
And here's an LA Times story with my comments on how a recall works.
Here's a look back at recalls of Forth Worth's Mayor W.J. Hammond and five councilmembers (one by resignation) in 1938 back when the city had a population of under 180,000.
The six had been elected in 1937 as members of the Peoples' Progressive League and faced the ire of the local business community.
Canyon Creek Rural Fire District Trustee Richard E. Grady was kicked out in a March 18 recall election, 146-49.
There seems to be complaints about the right to comment and other issues, including the hesitancy to accept a new fire truck. Apparently, most races are close, so the blowout was a surprise (though not to followers of recalls!).
North Slope Borough Mayor Josiah Aullaqsruaq Patkotak is facing petitions over complaints over allegedly misusing funds for travel expenses for his family. Apparently, the salary for the position is over $280,000.
This is the second petition filed, the first was rejected due to Alaska's malfeasance standard (which may not be in effect thanks to recent court decisions).
In 2016, a previous Mayor, Charlotte Brower, was kicked out with a recall for sending her grandchildren to a basketball camp in California, among other issues.
Freedom Select Board member Heather Donahue, famous for her leading role in "The Blair Witch Project," is facing a recall vote on April 23rd over whether a road that a family has claimed has public access or not (Donahue has argued that it does). The petitioners are complaining that Donahue cut brush and trimming on the road and used orange spray paint to mark trees on the public easement.
There are also issues of complaints about the old board (Donahue was elected last year), including late IRS payments and budget confusion, so this may be part of an old residents vs. new residents fight.
Petitioners handed in 73 signatures and needed 46 valids.
Petitions have been taken out against Burleigh County Commissioner Brian Bitner over complaints about contempt for voters, though Bitner believes it is for other reasons that he does not specify. Bitner is the board chair and has been on the commission since 2008.
Petitioners need 12,858 signatures in one year.
The recall effort against Contra Costa District Attorney Diana Becton is moving forward, with petitions set to be filed this week. Petitioners seem to need somewhere in the neighborhood of 72,000 signatures in 160 days.
Becton appears to be part of the progressive prosecutor movement, and is facing similar complaints to DAs in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Alameda about a perception of a failure to prosecute different cases. We discuss the pushback here. Interestingly, Becton was listed as one of the opponents of Prop 36, which increased sentencing for drug and theft crimes and passed overwhelming.
Becton has also been accused of demoting her last two opponent after her election and there was apparently a $2.2 million discrimination settlement against the DA's office (which her opponent was part of -- the alleged discrimination was against women).
Here's some local reports on KRON4 and ABC7 where I am on discussing the recall effort.
No surprise here, but the Minnesota Supreme Court has tossed out the recall efforts against Minnesota's Democratic House Representatives and (presumably one of the Republicans), claiming it fails to meet the malfeasance standard.
A recall effort has been kicked off against Knox County School Board Chair Betsy Henderson. Henderson is facing the recall over her push for school vouchers.
It is not clear if there can be a recall, as state law allows it only on a regular election ballot, not as a standalone special election. "The county charter doesn't specify whether special election can be called for recalls." If there is no special, then the next election would ne in 2026, when the seat would be up. Henderson may run for mayor instead. Petitioners would need about 6000 signatures.
The lead petitioner, Phillip Sherman, ran against her in 2022.
Petitions have been taken out against Beverly Hills School Board Members Russell Stuart and Sigalie Sabag following the resignation of the Superintendent and the restructure of administration and two schools. Stuart has also faced criticism for a social media post overlapping the D in the School District with DOGE.
Petitioners need about 4560 signatures. There would be no replacement whatsoever if they are removed.
Update: The recall has been put on hold because it was put in too early.
Petitions have been taken out against Santa Cruz Sheriff David Hathaway. Petitioners need 4567 signatures by July 2.
The lead petitioner is the chair of the local Republican Party and a former volunteer with the search and rescue team. There's a kitchen sink list of complaints, but the focus seems to be withdrawing from a federal program paying for increased border patrol action.
Very odd situation in Opal, where the City Attorney told the council that they could lead a recall of Mayor Mary Hall (who was recently appointed after the previous mayor resigned), though he was wrong.
The Attorney believed that a recall was allowed, but found out that Wyoming's law only allows for recalls in governments with a commission-style (which is apparently none).
It is an odd feature that the state allows recalls, but no one can access such a rule.
Update: The City Attorney resigned
The bizarre recall effort against Dickinson Commissioner Jason Fridrich, in which no candidate put themselves on the ballot to oppose him, has ended, as Fridrich won the race 626 to 25 for write-in candidate Seth Hegelson (who led the recall effort).
For some reason, no challenger emerged in the March 11th recall election against Fridrich, despite them getting the recall on the ballot.
The recall is over a claim that he did not properly take the oath of office.
The ones against Mayor Scott Decker and Commissioner John Odermann failed. There is a question on how many signatures were needed due to whether to follow the ND Code or the Home Rule Charter. Dickinson's Home Rule Charter required 15% of voters versus 25% in the state Code.
Petitioners needed 724 for Decker and Odermann and 424 for Fridrich.
There is a new bill for a recall law in New York state, sponsored by Assemblyman Chris Tague (R). The bill would only hit statewide elected officials, not legislators or local officials.
37 of the Taiwan focused recall campaigns have advanced to the next stage, with 33 KMT legislators, one independent legislator, a mayor and two city councilors moving forward. They will now need 10% of voters signatures in 60 days to go to the ballot.
The state level recall bill proposed by Senator Bill Coleman (R) passed through the Senate comitteee 7-1.
The recall has some unusual provisions, including have lawmakers start the process rather than have the signature gathering effort (which is the case for Illinois's gubernatorial recall).
The bill seems to be in reaction to School Superintendent Ryan Waters, who is calling for the election of district superintendents and has run into trouble on both sides of the aisle.
Fort Calhoun Mayor Mitch Robinson is facing a recall effort over his support a plan to lease outdoor gun range space to Omaha's Police Department. There is already a recall vote to remove that specific provision.
The recall against Palmer Mayor Steve Carrington appears to have made the ballot, with the recall to be held on May 20th. The recall appears to be over over a $75K severance payment to a city manager who served for 53 days. The complaint is focused on Open Meeting Act violations.
Three Palmer City Councilmembers were kicked out in a recall in 2022. The lead petitioner against the three councilmembers is also leading the effort against Carrington. Carrington was elected in 2022, but served for a decade on the council. Petitioners need about 58 signatures (25% of turnout -- though perhaps it requires all signers to have voted) in 90 days to get on the ballot.
Petitioners needed 71 signatures. No word on how many they got.
Signatures are being collected for a recall of Glendale Councilmember Leandro Baldenegro over complaints about eliminating comments at the council meetings and voting demolish a library.
Petitioners need over 400 signatures to get on the ballot.
Petitions are being taken out against six-term Lancaster Mayor R. Rex Parris The complaint appears to be partly about changing the term from two to four years -- though this was back in 2010 (it was a voter measure). Other complaints seem to be about a proposed project for the homeless and his comments about a purge and giving homeless free fentanyl.
The lead petitioners appear to be two of the people who Parris beat in the election last year, Republican Mark Maldonado and Democrat Johnathon Ervin. Parris won (in a field of 10) 4763 to 3648 for Erivn and 3190 for Maldonado.
Petitions have been taken out against Pueblo Mayor Heather Graham
The recall is about complaints of removing nonprofit funding, retaliation against opposition and spending too much time on social media during council meetings.
The recall effort against Navajo Nation President Buu Nygren has failed, with petitioners handing in 11,193 signatures and needing 34,000 (45% of turnout in the past election).
The recall was over a kitchen sink of complaints, including misusing funds, a revolving door and inaction on workplace harassment and the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People initiative.
The former Executive Director of the Division of Human Resources, who was fired in June, is leading the effort.
A change.org petition is claiming almost 28,000 signatures against Maine Governor Janet Mills (D) though obviously none of them are worth anything, as the online petitions do not count for recall or other direct democracy efforts (additionally, it is quite likely that many of the signers do not live in Maine).
As the article notes, Maine does not actually have a state-level recall law, so there is no possibility that Mills will be removed in a recall or that this will move forward.
The complaint is over women and transathletes issue. Mills recently got into a verbal scuffle with Trump, so that may be a part of this.
https://scocablog.com/the-downballot-roll-off-effect-in-action/
Overview
The November 2024 election ballot in Alameda County saw an unusual occurrence: overlapping recalls of the Alameda district attorney and the Oakland mayor. Media coverage of these recalls portrayed those separate county and city contest results as being very similar. But a more detailed look shows a noted discrepancy in the vote totals among the Oakland voters who could cast ballots for both officials. Price did significantly better in Oakland than Thao, mainly because a significant number of the pro-Price voters did not also cast a ballot in the mayoral recall. This is probably explained at least in part by the fact that the district attorney appeared higher on the ballot than the mayor. This would be a stark example of how the downballot roll-off effect can impact lower-level races.
Analysis
Ballot design is a long-running theme in American politics
How to structure ballots and elections has been a long-running debate in American history.[1] The original early-1900s Progressive movement promoted the short ballot, which was designed to remove some of the more obscure positions and transfer them from elected to appointed jobs.[2] The movement tied this simplification to both longer terms in office and (more in theory than in practice) a recall to give voters an out.[3] The arguments for a short ballot are bolstered by what has been called the downballot roll-off effect, which describes the steep falloff in votes for local positions listed below higher-profile contests, as voters only cast ballots for the top of the ticket and ignore the races below.[4]
Another argument has attacked off-year elections, which posits that because turnout is particularly low for non-presidential election year races the system would work more effectively if elections were consolidated. Nationwide in recent years there has been a push against the spaced-out election day schedule, with some states prohibiting odd-year elections.[5] Other states have taken similar steps such as banning recalls on a special election day.[6] In a country where no one knows how many elected positions there are, figuring out the advantages and disadvantages of different dates and ballot lengths should at least be on the table.
The Price and Thao election results show the downballot roll-off effect
It takes a lot for a local race to become a national story during a presidential election year, as Alameda County did in November. It wasn’t a regular election, but rather the two recall votes against District Attorney Pamela Price and Mayor Sheng Thao that grabbed the spotlight.[7] Alameda’s votes were the first since at least 2011 to feature recalls in overlapping local jurisdictions (not including the two gubernatorial recalls in 2012 and 2021). Both Price and Thao were viewed as being on the same side in local politics, and both were blamed for the same activating issue — the perceptions of high crime and lax prosecuting and policing standards.
The two recalls were joined on the ballot, but examining the numbers reveals a marked difference in their vote counts that in large part are likely explained by the fact that the two candidates were placed pages apart on the ballot. This is a good example of the downballot roll-off effect and it also may point to which type of voter is least likely to roll off.
At first glance, the election results seem very similar, with Price losing with a 62.92% vote against in the county and Thao being ousted by 60.62% against in Oakland. But isolating only the overlapping voters in Oakland (by far the biggest city in the county) shows a different story. Price was on the ballot’s third page, while Thao was on page eight — or ninth since one of the pages was blank. Price lost Oakland with 53% of the vote against her, 84,165–74,260. But Thao lost by a much larger margin, with 60% of the vote, 86,535–56,220.[8] There was a 15,000+ vote or 10% difference between the two races in Oakland, all on one side. Presuming that this is the same pool of voters, and assuming that anyone who supported one candidate supported the other, between 13,000–18,000 Price supporters dropped off and did not vote for Thao (2370 switched sides).[9] This shows that one side of the contest, the Price–Thao supporters, did not vote downballot.
Other possibly influential factors
Of course there are some differences between these two recalls. Price’s recall received much more attention, partly from the heightened attention caused by the backlash over the progressive prosecutor movement that led to San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin’s recall in 2022. The Price recall was also an extended affair thanks to an unnecessary and unusual set of delays caused by the legislature, the county supervisors, and election officials — it took over 18 months to get the Price recall before the voters. Thao’s recall was comparatively quick, with stories only starting to appear about 10 months before Election Day. The Price recall received more attention over a longer stretch of time, which partly explain the higher vote count in her contest.
There also were differences between the likely bases of support for the respective officials. As Mayor Thao received criticism on a wider range of local issues than Price did with her more focused one-issue job of prosecuting crime. And Thao endured negative publicity related to an FBI raid on her home that had no analogue in Price’s recall. Far more money was spent on the Price campaign, although neither effort saw much in the way of spending after getting on the ballot.[10] In fact, there were numerous lawn signs printed that simply said “no on recalls” and did not even specify the targeted candidates. Contrast that with the county supervisor race, which represents only one-fifth of the county, and which generated a flood of expensive mailers and supervisor-related YouTube ads on both sides of the supervisor race. Mail and internet advertising on the district attorney recall was sparse at best.
The extra attention paid to the district attorney recall could have been offset by the fact that the mayor is a more high-profile and impactful position than a prosecutor, though that does not seem to be the case this year. In general, it seems odd that voters would focus on the district attorney rather than the mayor. As a point of comparison, in both candidates’ hotly contested original victories in 2022, the variance in Oakland between the district attorney (133,636) and Oakland mayor (133,527) race was a mere 109 votes. Yet in the 2024 recall election the district attorney got 15,000 more votes in the same district. The added attention appears to have helped increase votes in the 2024 race.
Roll-off happens even when the vote is for the same candidates right next to each other on the ballot. The race for California’s U.S. Senate seat saw Adam Schiff and Steve Garvey running in both the general election for the full six-year term and in a special election to finish the last weeks of Dianne Feinstein’s term.[11] The difference between the two races was less than 1% —but that does mean that over 300,000 voters statewide chose to vote in the regular race but ignore the special election race. Schiff did slightly worse in the special election than the general, but his total fell off by just 0.12%.
Finally, another factor besides the difference in place on the ballot may have influenced the discrepancy between Price and Thao: voter anger may create greater interest in ensuring that roll-offs are a lesser effect for pro-recall forces. For example, in November 2008 Michigan House Speaker Andy Dillon faced both a recall and a reelection run; the recall would only be for the remaining two months of the term. Dillon won his reelection race 27,864–14,311 and beat his recall (which was much further down the ballot) 23,987–14,257.[12] Once again, the drop-off is not evenly distributed. The kick-Dillon-out side lost 54 votes, less than one percentage point. The keep-Dillon side saw a 3,877 vote decline, or 14%. The roll-off was negligible for the pro-recall forces, but significant for the elected official.
This roll-off effect may explain another odd effect of recalls. Voters appear more likely to eject an official when the recall is paired with a general or primary election than as a standalone special election (67% versus 57%).[13] You’d expect those numbers to be reversed for several reasons: standalone special elections should more likely lead to an ouster because of a movers’ advantage; the recall proponents just spent significant time running a signature gathering effort; it’s the only political hot potato at the time; and a smaller and more motivated number of voters would be focused on the contest. Instead, that anger may lead to staying focused on completing the full ballot line.
Conclusion
The question of how long or short a ballot should be has been a source of debate since the original Progressive era in the early 1900s. Weighing those alternatives requires balancing the value of greater democracy in choosing candidates against the challenge of giving voters too many choices to make, leading to roll-off. This is a policy choice with competing imperatives, a balancing act with no right or wrong answer. The Alameda and Oakland recall results, with their marked relative drop-off in votes in comparable contests, are an example of the downballot roll-off’s effect and a reminder to be mindful of the long ballot’s disadvantages.
—o0o—
Joshua Spivak is a senior research fellow at the California Constitution Center.
Congressional Research Institute, “How the Secret Ballot Ended the Gilded Age.” ↑
Marshall, Short Ballot Needed to Simplfy American Politics, New York Times (Dec. 14, 1913) at 14. ↑
Farmer, “Power to the People: The Progressive Movement for the Recall, 1890s-1920.” The New England Journal of History, Winter 2001, 59–83. ↑
Goldstein and Roman, “Downballot roll-off: Lopsided roll-off among major parties may be linked to downballot losses,” Sister District Project (Sept. 14, 2022). ↑
Fischer, “New AZ law limits city elections even-numbered years, 2 days per year,” East Valley Tribune (May 14, 2012). ↑
Michigan Bureau of Elections —Legislative Update(Jan. 23, 2013) at 6–7. “Special recall election dates for local officials are limited to regular May and November election dates.”Before the new Michigan law the recalls were held on standalone special election dates. ↑
Qin and Rodriguez, Oakland’s Mayor Had Enough Troubles. Then the F.B.I. Came Knocking, New York Times (June 24, 2024). ↑
Alameda County District Canvass (Certified Results) November 5, 2024 at 123 for Price, at 251–52 for Thao ↑
Ibid. ↑
Finney and Green, Who’s Paying for the Campaign to Recall Alameda County DA Pamela Price? These Charts Break It Down, KQED (Oct. 22, 2024); Wolfe, Hedge Fund exec bankrolling Oakland Mayor recall shifts focus to down-ballot races, Oaklandside (Nov. 1, 2024). ↑
California Secretary of State, Statement of Vote November 5, 2024 at 6. ↑
Wayne County November 8, 2008 General Election Results. ↑
Spivak, What Recalls Tell Us About Regular Elections, Governing Magazine (Feb. 24, 2024) ↑
