California: Recall of Anaheim City Council member make June 4 ballot

The recall of Anaheim City Council member Natalie Rubalcava has made the ballot and been scheduled for June 4. 

Petitioners handed in  9118 signatures, they needed 5123. The clerk checked 7693 and found 5131 valids (presumably they stopped once they were over the line), so a 66.7% valid rate. 

The recall was started after a public corruption investigation report was released. The corruption claim is based on a chamber of commerce created data mining operation that allegedly gave Rubalcava a list of names and contact info taken from community outreach groups. She is also accused of giving operational direction to city staff rather than the city manager. Rubalcava was elected in 2022, and Support our Anaheim Resort, a Disney PAC, was a big supporter. The Unite Here union, which has been fighting for a $25 minimum wage, has been a major opponent of Rubalcaya.

Ohio: Buckeye Lake Mayor kicked out in February 27 recall

Buckeye Lake Mayor Jeryne Peterson was kicked out in a recall vote 229-73 (as a special election). Interestingly, the language for the recall question was "Shall Jeryne Peterson be allowed to continue as mayor?" So a no means remove. Usually, a yes is a removal (Shall Gavin Newsom be recalled (removed) from the office of Governor?). No idea why that is. 

The recall seems to be about a host of complaints, "resignations from village employees, unanimous censure and no-confidence votes from village council, a fight with the village solicitor and a lawsuit alleging discrimination filed by a local hotel against the village mayor and police officials." 

The Ohio Supreme Court previously rejected an attempt to throw out the recall over Peterson's claim that the original submission did not have enough signatures and petitioners refiled (as allowed by the charter) in a cure petition 10 days later. Peterson is claiming that the deadline wasn't met. Peterson won office with 30% of the vote in 2021. Petitioners handed in 265 valid signatures and needed 252. They originally got 246 valids. Peterson has said that the entire council signed the petitions.

Wisconsin: Raymond School Board Member survives recall vote

Raymond School Board Member Jannell Wise has survived a recall vote, 584-485. The recall seems to be over the firing of a principal. The principal claims he was fired because he is gay.

Former School Board Member, Gwen Keller resigned before the vote, though she was also replaced by a fellow conservative.

Colorado: Petitions taken out against District Attorney for 8th Judicial District

Petitions have been taken out against 8th Judicial District Attorney Gordon McLaughlin (Larimer and Jackson Counties). Petitioner is the parent of a bus employee who was killed in an accident when a co-worker ran him over. Petitioner claims that the driver should have been charged with careless driving.

Petitioner would need 52,858 signatures in 60 days. A recall is estimated to cost $834K. 

North Dakota: Controversial ballot measure revamping voting laws would lower signature requirements for recalls

A proposed initiative that would radically change North Dakota voting laws (including making ballots handed counted, no early voting or mail voting, allowing any citizen to examine ballots) would also make recalls easier. 

It would lower the signature requirement from 25% of turnout for governor in the jurisdiction to 10% (which would possibly be the lowest in the country). It also bans signature strike laws (so a signer could not remove their name), 

California: New recall attempt filed against California Governor

Another recall attempt has been filed against California Governor Gavin Newsom, this time focused on the budget deficit and Newsom's role as a campaign surrogate for President Joe Biden. This is the seventh attempt filed against Newsom (including the recall he defeated). 

Unsurprisingly, Jerry Brown is the California State Record holder, with 12 (including AG recall attempts). The Duke (Deukmejian) had 11, Wilson had 8, Schwarzenegger had 7. The immortal Cuthbert Olsen had 5, Pat Brown 3 and Gray Davis only had 3. Supreme Court Chief Justice Rose Bird had 9 -- but was kicked out in retention election, not a recall.

Michigan: Flint Council President recall fails, with too many signatures tossed

The recall effort against Flint Council President Ladel Lewi has failed, as petitioners handed in 1099 signatures and needed 751. They got 629 valids, (strangely they originally had 574 -- not clear what happened).

An earlier effort said petitioners missed out by 63 signatures. 1022 were handed in and 722 were validated. They needed 785. However, the clerk's office originally misplaced six pages, which led to a second count and the close numbers. 

Previously, the recall of Flint Councilmember Eva Worthing has gotten on the ballot, as petitioners handed in 546 valid signatures and needed 510. 

There have also been attempted recalls against Dennis Pfeiffer, Eric Mays and Judy Priestley (with two filed against Priestly). Herkenroder already announced that she is resigning her seat. No word on the other efforts.

The recall is over claims that Mays and another councilmember called a meeting that they others did not attend over the question of applying for a community grant program funding. Mays has also been charged with disorderly conduct for conduct at the council meetings that has apparently gone viral.

Washington: Court throws out Ione Mayor and Council member recall after lead petition found not to live in city

A Washington Superior Court judge has rejected a recall attempt against Ione Mayor Eva Marie Warren and City Council member Michael Shipley because the lead petition, Councilmember Michael Piccirilli, was ruled to no longer lives in Ione, which has led to his voter registration being revoked. Piccirilli has refused to resign.

There was also an attempt against Councilmember Ken Timmerick, but Timmerick resigned in December over travel plans.

The recall was over an alleged attempt to hold a vote over email. 

Washington, DC: Second Councilmember facing petitions

Washington, D.C. Councilmember Brianne Nadeau is facing a recall effort over rising crime issues. Petitioners need 10% of registereds to get on the ballot. 

This is the second recall effort against Washington, DC City Councilmember. Councilmember Charles Allen is also facing a recall effort over crime issues, including his push for criminal justice reform issues that were blocked by Congress and the Biden Administration last year. 

Ohio: Ohio Supreme Court upholds recall against Buckeye Lake Mayor; Scheduled for February 27 recall

The Ohio Supreme Court has rejected Buckeye Lake Mayor Jeryne Peterson's attempt to have her upcoming February 27 recall (special election) thrown out. Peterson's claim is based on the fact that the original submission did not have enough signatures and petitioners refiled (as allowed by the charter) in a cure petition 10 days later. Peterson is claiming that the deadline wasn't met. 

The recall seems to be about a host of complaints, "resignations from village employees, unanimous censure and no-confidence votes from village council, a fight with the village solicitor and a lawsuit alleging discrimination filed by a local hotel against the village mayor and police officials." 

Peterson won office with 30% of the vote in 2021. Petitioners handed in 265 valid signatures and needed 252. They originally got 246 valids. Peterson has said that the entire council signed the petitions.

Massachusetts: New Bedford Mayor proposes recall law

New Bedford Mayor John Mitchell is proposing a recall law for city council members. Petitioners would need signatures from 15% of registereds in 45 days (at large officials need 600 signatures). The recall proposal also has a turnout veto -- 15% of registereds must vote for it to count.

The city looked into such a law in 2017.

Recalls and the debate over Special Elections vs. General Elections

Governing Magazine has published my article on a deep dive into the question of special elections vs. regularly scheduled general elections. At the moment, there's a big debate as to whether specials are an accurate snapshot of the electorate. Since recalls can take place as either a special election or on a regularly scheduled general (or primary) election date, that their numbers are particularly useful. This is an update of an earlier article I wrote on this subject. 

Most people, including me, believed that recalls that take place as standalone special elections are more likely to result in removal. This is wrong -- in fact, recalls taking place on days tied with general elections are more likely to succeed. But not by that much, which puts me in the camp that special elections are a valuable tool in examining the electorate. 

From 2011-2023, I counted 1187 recalls (in 31 states and DC). Another 239 officials resigned in the face of recalls. 729 officials were removed and 458 survived, a 61.4% removal rate. 

40% of recalls were on a general or primary election date, 317 resulted in removal (67%). 712 were as standalone specials, 406 removals (57%). 

When there is a multi-official recall in a jurisdiction, the clean sweep removal rate was 73% on a general election and 60 % for a special (46 of the multi-recall elections saw a split verdict). (Also, compiling that data was took much longer than I would have hoped).

It could be that ballot placement may be part of the reason why the regularly scheduled election recalls see a higher failure rate -- as can be seen by the Michigan House Speaker Andy Dillon recall + reelection numbers. 

Michigan: Ypsilanti Councilmember recall makes the May 7th ballot

The recall election of Ypsilanti Council Desirae Simmons made the ballot for May 7th (a regularly scheduled general election date). The recall is over a vote to purchase a $3.7M building, A former Councilmember was the broker of the deal and may make $100,000 on it. 

Former Ypsilanti Planning Commission Chairman Rod Johnson is running as an independent in the replacement race.

Petitioners handed in 747 signatures and needed 603 valids (not yet sure how many failed). . The election would be on May 7th. 

The recall against council member Jennifer Symanns led to her resignation, though petitioners have stopped their effort against Mayor Nicole Brown.

UK: Another Conservative MP facing suspension and potential recall effort

Looks like the UK is set for another recall, as MP Scott Benton (Conservative) is being suspended for telling an undercover reporter he'd break lobbying rules for money. Benton has a 35 day suspension ahead and has already been suspended from the Conservative Party. The seat is a close one, so not a good sign for the Conservatives (Labour has done well in recent recalls). Petitioners would need over 10,000 signatures to get on the ballot.

As with other recalls in UK, a suspension of 10 days from Parliament leads to the ability to start a recall petition. If enough signatures are gathered, the official is automatically removed and a by-election is scheduled. 

California: Signature gathering begins in recall of Oakland Mayor

Signature gathering has started in the recall effort against Oakland Mayor Sheng Tao, with crime issues taking centerstage. Tao has fired the Oakland Police Chief and rejected three possible replacements proposed by a committee. There is discussion about people collecting signatures, but paperwork may not have been submitted (and certainly wasn't approved).

One of the leaders of the recall effort is Alameda County Judge Brenda Harbin-Forte, who served on the Police Commission and was removed by Tao.

Petitioners would need 10% of registered voters, which should be (at the moment) 24,638 signatures.

UK: Labour wins recall race against Conservative MP

Labour has won the replacement race in the recall election against former Conservative MP Peter Bone.

Gen Kitchen (Labour) beat Conservative Helen Harrison, Kitchen won by 6436, which was a major reversal of Bone's 18540 vote victory.

The recall got to the ballot after Bone was suspended for six weeks for sexual misconduct and bullying his staff. As per UK rules the office was vacated and Bone could have run in the replacement race (he did not). Bone had been in office since 2005 and was previously deputy leader of Commons. Petitioners handed in 10505 signatures and needed 7904.

As with other recalls in UK, a suspension of 10 days from Parliament leads to the ability to start a recall petition. If enough signatures are gathered, the official is automatically removed and a by-election is scheduled. 

Nevada: Esmeralda County Clerk facing petition threat

Esmeralda County Clerk LaCinda Elgan is facing petitions from the Esmeralda County Republican Central Committee, over her rejection of a push to have hand counting of all ballots as part of false claims of election fraud from 2020. Elgan has handcounted ballots in the past and found that they lined-up with the machine count. 

Petitioners would need 186 signatures to get on the ballot.  

Texas: New attempt to recall Dickinson Mayor rejected by auditor

Dickinson's auditor rejected a second attempt to get a recall of Dickinson Mayor Sean Skipworth over claims that it didn't meet the specification requirement (a malfeasance standard/judicial recall law) for a recall to be allowed.

The city attorney previously claimed that the recall was invalid after petitioners handed in about 1150 signatures and needed 689 valids (they had 30 days). The City Attorney said that the petitions did not confirm the number of signatures on each page; questions of who was facing a recall; and a lack of specifications on the recall claims.

The recall is over claims that he "failed to meet fiduciary responsibilities." There are a host of other complaints, including over his support for the hiring a city manager who has faced assault charges.

Skipworth also protested that the non-city residents are gathering signatures, which violates local laws, though that law itself may violate US law (maybe?). 

Canada: Wetaskiwin Mayor facing petitions

Petitions have been taken out against Wetaskiwin (Alberta) Mayor Tyler Gandam over his support for a homeless shelter.

They have 60 days to get 5038 signatures.

Louisiana: St. Tammany Parish Coroner-elect facing recall effort

St. Tammany Parish Coroner-elect Christopher Tape is facing recall threats over sex abuse allegations that were dismissed in 2003 over a claim of a violation of a right to a speedy trial. Tape was fired by the previous coroner over claims of violating the confidentiality policy.

10 years ago, St. Tammany Parish Coroner Peter Galvan resigned during recall efforts over theft.