Arizona: Signatures verified against Graham County Clerk of the Superior Court

Looks like the recall of Graham County Clerk of the Superior Court Cindy Woodman (R) will go forward. She is being recalled over complaints about her tenure, including high turnover, lack of knowledge and a court ruling that she was "derelict in her duties" due to evidence mishandling. Petitioners need 2697 signatures by January  and reports say they have over 2800 signatures.

Alaska: Superior Court Judge lifts stay and now allows signature collecting against Governor

Superior Court Judge Eric Aarseth has now lifted his decision that halted the collection of signatures until the Alaska Supreme Court rules on the case. Aarseth said that the stay was handed down inadvertently.

Aarseth previously authored a major ruling on the recall of the Governor, holding that petitioners have adequate grounds to seek the recall of Governor Mike Dunleavy (R). The decision overturned the Division of Elections and Attorney General's positions that the recall did not hit the malfeasance standard requirement in Alaska.

The recall is over major spending cuts, delays in appointing judges misusing state funds and mistakenly vetoing funds. Alaska is a malfeasance standard/judicial recall state, so a showing of cause is needed (though the state courts has taken a lenient view of the the cause requirement in past instances).

Petitioners needed to first get 28,501 signatures. If the decision is upheld, they would need 71,252 signatures to get to the ballot. Note that of the 49,006 signatures that they've already received, a third were by Democrats.

Alaska: Superior Court Judge Temporarily Stays ruling allowing signature collecting against Governor to move forward; waiting for a Supreme Court decision

Following his major ruling on the recall of the Governor, Superior Court Judge Eric Aarseth has halted the collection of signatures until the Alaska Supreme Court rules on the case.

Aarseth held that petitioners have adequate grounds to seek the recall of Governor Mike Dunleavy (R). The decision overturned the Division of Elections and Attorney General's positions that the recall did not hit the malfeasance standard requirement in Alaska.

The recall is over major spending cuts, delays in appointing judges misusing state funds and mistakenly vetoing funds. Alaska is a malfeasance standard/judicial recall state, so a showing of cause is needed (though the state courts has taken a lenient view of the the cause requirement in past instances).

Petitioners needed to first get 28,501 signatures. If the decision is upheld, they would need 71,252 signatures to get to the ballot. Note that of the 49,006 signatures that they've already received, a third were by Democrats.

Texas: McKinney City Councilman files suit to stop recall vote, expected in May

Councilman La'Shadion Shemwell, who is scheduled to face a recall election on May 2, has filed suit to toss at the attempt..

Shemwell has been a controversial member of the council with complaints of violating ethics codes and making inflammatory statements and getting arrested repeatedly (one seemed to be for domestic violence), which he claimed occurred after he was racially profiled after refusing to sign two citations after he was pulled over for speeding last year. Shemwell has previously declared a "black state of emergency" in Texas.

McKinney approved an amendment to make recalls easier to get on the ballot earlier this year.

California: El Rancho School Board President resigns following signature verification

 El Rancho School Board President Jose Lara has resigned following the verification of signatures against him. Fellow Board member Leeanne Ibarra is still on the ballot.

Petitioners handed in about 9700 signatures for each. They got 7659 for Lara and 7623 for Ibarra. They needed 6509 signatures to get on the ballot.

The El Rancho Federation of Teachers supported the recall effort. The issues include questions over suspected bond mismanagement, rehiring of a construction company and principal firing and reassignment. The recall effort allegedly cost only $7000 to mount.

Update: The replacement will not be appointed until after the election.

Texas: Leon City Council hasn't yet scheduled recall election, which is suppose to take place on May 2

The City Council has not yet scheduled the recall against Leon Valley Councilmembers Monica Alcocer and Donna Charles, which is suppose to take place on May 2. The recall is over the vote to kick out Councilman Benny Martinez over sexual harassment complaint. Petitioners include two former council members and the Mayor Chris Riley.

Colorado: Ouray County Sheriff facing recall efforts over DUI

Ouray County Sheriff Lance FitzGerald is facing recall threats started by the County Republicans party, after he was accused of a DUI. His girlfriend was accused of domestic violence last year and was in jail for five days. He won office by 11 votes as an unaffiliated candidate, though he beat a Republican.

Update: The Democrats have joined the effort as well

California: Four Del Norte School Board members facing recall efforts

Del Norte County Unified School District Board Members Frank Magarino, Don McArthur, Angela Greenough and Jamie Forkner are facing recall threats from the former Teachers Association representative over faculty contract negotiations. The fifth board seat is currently vacant. Petitioners would need about 3000 signatures for each recall.

Taiwan: Signatures verified in first stage of Kaohsiung Mayor recall

The recall effort against Kaohsiung Mayor Han Kuo-yuto (who recently lost the presidential race), has moved to the second stage. Petitioners needed to get signatures of 1% of the city, and have gotten that. They had 28,560 verified and the needed 22,814.

Now, petitioners need 10% of eligible voters to sign (about 230,000).

Han was the Kuomintang Presidential candidate, and was being threatened with a recall following flooding in the town (though presumably this may be part of the presidential political wrangling). There is an absentee voter provision -- 25% of eligible voters must cast ballots for the recall to count.

Colorado: Evergreen Fire Protection District Board President facing recall threats

Evergreen Fire Protection District Board President John Anderson is facing recall threats following the dismissal of a volunteer fire captain. No word on how many signatures would be needed.

Guam: Yona Mayor recall effort dropped after Senators adopt different replacement plan

The recall effort against Yona Mayor Jesse Blas seems to have been dropped, with Senators passing a law allowing the acting mayor to lead the city instead. Blas was facing a recall petition after being arrested on bribery and extortion charges related to an alleged scheme to import crystal meth. Petitioners need 981 signatures to get a recall on the ballot (though a 2/3rds vote of the legislature can put a recall on the ballot as well).

Canada: Delay in Alberta Legislature may kill recall bill

The plan to expand the recall to Alberta may die if the Legislative Assembly is not reconvened until late February (as is the current plan). UCP MLA Mark Smith introduced a private members' recall bill for the Alberta Legislature.

Smith had previously introduced the bill in 2016 as a Wildrose MLA. The recall proposal would oust the MLA if petitioners get 40% of eligible voters signatures in a 60 day period. There is a long grace period -- 18 months after a general election and 6 months before.

This article notes that Alberta had a recall law in the 1930s, passed by the Social Credit government in 1936 (needing 66.6% of voter signatures), though the law was repealed in 1937 when a campaign was expected to work against Premier William Aberhart's Okotos-High River. There have been 8 attempts to add a recall law since 1993.

Texas: Leon Valley City Council member, whose removal led to upcoming recall against other councilmembers, running in next election

Leon Valley Councilman Benny Martinez, who was kicked out of office over sexual harassment complaints last year, is trying to run for the office against. The vote to remove Martinez has led to the upcoming May 2 recall against Leon Valley Councilmembers Monica Alcocer and Donna Charles.

Yerington Paiute Tribe recall Chairwoman

Yerington Pauite Tribe Chairwoman Laurie Thom was ousted, 66-39. The issue was claims of failing to maintain proper financial reporters, supervise staffs and stalled repairs. Petitioners needed 43 of 122 voting members to cast their ballot against for the recall to count.

Thom has claimed that Tribal Council Vice-chair Ginny Hatch was behind the removal vote and that Hatch's family member and former Tribal Chair Linda Howard will move into the council seat. There is no word on how the replacement will be handled.

Oregon: Signature gathering started in Powers Mayor and City Councilor recall efforts

Powers Mayor Robert Kohn and City Councilor James Clauson petitions has begun. The reason seems to be the firing of the former police chief. Petitioners would need 52 signatures (the town has 678 people).

Nebraska: Broken Bow Mayoral ousted in Recall Election

Broken Bow Mayor Jonathan Berghost appears to have lost his recall vote, 619-400. The recall was over claims of a hostile work environment, operating with out council approval and allegedly threatening police officers. Petitioners handed in 476 signatures, they need 410 valid signatures. Turnout was about 50%.

Update: The total is official.

Idaho: Sugar City Mayor and Councilman who survived March recall lost seats in November election

An interesting denouncement to the Sugar City recall from last March. Back then, Mayor David Ogden (290-177) and Councilman Brent Barrus (294-167) survived their recall votes in a battle over the legal costs for rezoning of property that may result in new apartments and is the cause of a significant battle in town. Following that, three council members resigned.

In November, Steve Adams beat Ogden in his reelection race and Barrus lost his city council seat.

Texas: Two Midland Council members facing petitions over hotel development deal

Midland Council members Scott Dufford and Spencer Robnett are facing recall efforts over a deal with a hotel developer. There hasn't been a recall in at least 20 years. It seems like petitioners would need about 13,616 signatures (20% of registereds).

The effort is led by former city council candidate Kimberly Crisp, who lost in November.

Oregon: Powers Mayor and City Councilor facing recall efforts

Powers Mayor Robert Kohn and City Councilor James Clauson are facing a recall effort, though the reasons seem to be vague ("not governing for the best interest of the majority of the citizens of Powers..."). Petitioners would need 52 signatures (the town has 678 people).

Michigan: Judge throws out petitions against two Traverse School Board members over grace period question

The recall effort against Traverse City School Board Treasurer Matt Anderson and Secretary Pamela G. Forton has been thrown out by a Circuit Court Judge, who ruled that the petitions were taken out too earlier to count. Michigan has a one year grace period stopping recalls in the first and last year of office. Anderson and Forton were elected in 2018 and the petitions were taken out on November 8 (one year from their election). The judge ruled that the one year mark starts on December 31, 2019 and the petitions should not have been allowed.

The recall effort against President M. Sue Kelly is still ongoing, though there is an appeal ongoing there.

The recall is over the resignation by mutual agreement of the superintendent for reasons that are unclear.

Petitioners would need about 11,700 signatures to get on the ballot.

There is a claim that the group would have to pay for the recall -- $80,000. I've seen this provision once (in West Virginia), but never in Michigan. I wonder if that is actually constitutional.

Colorado: Idaho Springs Mayor Recall schedule for April 7

The recall election of Idaho Springs Mayor Mike Hillman is scheduled for April 7. The recall petition cited some catch-all language, though it appears to be over the increased speed of residential development. Petitioners turned in 150 signatures and needed 77 signatures to get on the ballot.

Alaska: Superior Court Judge Rules that Gubernatorial recall can go forward

Major ruling in Alaska, as Superior Court Judge Eric Aarseth ruled after oral arguments that petitioners have adequate grounds to seek the recall of Governor Mike Dunleavy (R). The decision, which is going to appealed to the Supreme Court, overturns the Division of Elections and Attorney General's positions that the recall did not hit the malfeasance standard requirement in Alaska.

The recall is over major spending cuts, delays in appointing judges misusing state funds and mistakenly vetoing funds. Alaska is a malfeasance standard/judicial recall state, so a showing of cause is needed (though the state courts has taken a lenient view of the the cause requirement in past instances).

Petitioners needed to first get 28,501 signatures. If the decision is upheld, they would need 71,252 signatures to get to the ballot. Note that of the 49,006 signatures that they've already received, a third were by Democrats.

Washington: Superior Court judge throws out State Attorney General recall

A Superior Court judge has thrown out the recall effort against Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson (D) over his support of gun control legislation and over a $30 car tax. The petitioners, who are part of the three-percenter militia movement, do not seem like they will appeal.

Washington is a malfeasance standard state, and the Court had to rule that the AG violated a specific set of laws. An attempt to recall Governor Jay Inslee (D) earlier this year also failed.

Michigan: State Representative Inman recall found to be 208 signatures short

The saga of the recall of Michigan State Representative Larry C. Inman (R) has now hit another bump, as the Bureau of Elections has reported that the petitioners have handed in 11993 valid signatures, 208 less than the 12201 needed. Petitioners filed 13,871 signatures total. No word yet on the whether they will challenge this decision -- though it now sounds like it won't be appealed.

The signature ruling comes after a unanimous decision by the Michigan Supreme Court allowing a more lenient standard on recall petition language. The decision overturned lower court rulings, including by the Michigan Court of Appeals, which tossed out all the signatures. The petition language was originally approved, but the petitions that were printed out left out the word "right" in the sentence: attempted extortion under color of official right."

Among the key findings of the court:

“The recall petition is proper because the reasons give for recall in the circulated petitions were not different that the reasons that were approved by the Board of Canvassers.”

Inman, who is term-limited, was also recently found not guilty by a federal jury found of lying to federal authorities, but were hung on charges of attempted extortion and soliciting a bribe.

Inman was indicted by a federal grand jury over attempted extortion, bribery and lying to the FBI continues, with the House voting 98-8 to call for his resignation. Inman is accused of trying to get a bribe from a union group for a vote to repeal the state's prevailing wage law. He has been prevented from going to his old office, though he is able to go onto the House floor. Inman blamed an opiod addiction.

California: One of two Gubernatorial Recalls dropped

One of two recall efforts targeting Governor Gavin Newsom (D) has been dropped. Dr. James Veltmeyer noted that he has raised only $90,000 for the effort, which was not enough to continue. He also blamed the second effort (which launched first) as complicating the attempt. The second attempt submitted 163,395 signatures on December 9.

Maine: Waterville Charter Commission considering amendment to clarify recall law

One of the proposed amendments for the charter commission is that they should clarify that officials who lose a recall vote are immediately removed once the council validates the totals. Waterville had two recall votes in 2018, but no one was ousted.

Nebraska: Signatures verified against Leshara Trustee members; Scheduling recall has faced issues

Petitioners are having a difficult time getting the recall against Leshara Village Trustees Dale Johnson and Dennis Beers scheduled. The boars scheduled it for February 4, though that may violate state law to have the special on the 1st Tuesday after the second Monday in a month.

The issue is the violating the open meeting act and a vote on road maintenance. A third member is also being targeted, though the name has not been revealed yet.

Wisconsin: State Senator who survived 2011 recall not running for reelection

State Senator Dave Hansen (D), one of the four Democrats who survived a recall vote in 2011, has announced he will not be running for reelection. Despite his own success, Hansen's district has trended red, with Trump winning it handily.

Michigan: Signatures handed in against Jackson Councilwoman facing recall effort over traffic circle

Petitioners have handed in 320 signatures for the recall of Jackson Councilwoman Kelsey Heck. They need 226. The recall is over a vote to approve a traffic circle

Heck was appointed to the seat after the resignation of her predecessor. A former council candidate, Susan Murdie, is leading the recall effort.

Texas: Leon Valley City Council member recall scheduled for May 2

The recall against Leon Valley Councilmembers Monica Alcocer and Donna Charles has been scheduled for May 2. The recall is over the vote to kick out Councilman Benny Martinez over sexual harassment complaint. Petitioners include two former council members and the Mayor Chris Riley.

California: Recall against Westminister Mayor and Councilmembers scheduled for April 7

The special election recall of Westminister Mayor Tri Ta and Councilmembers Kimberly Ho and Chi Charlie Nguyen has been scheduled for April 7.

Petitioners handed in over 11,000 signatures, they needed 8736 (don't yet see how many were validated). The issue is claims of ethical violations, such as limiting debate and participation.

There is also an attempt against the other two members, Tao Do and Sergio Contreas. Do's supporters have backed the recall of the other three and Do welcomed the recall of the other three on Facebook.

The recall will be a special election -- because of the law (the recall must be held between 88 and 125 days after the next council meeting), it cannot coincide with the March primary.