Michigan: Full state Appeals Court to hear Townsend selectmen recall appeal

One justice on the state Appeals Court issued an injunction to prevent the recall of Selectman Cindy King on June 19, which was upheld by one judge on the state's highest court (Supreme Judicial Court). The recall of Selectman Gordon Clark was also enjoined. The full panel of the Appeals Court will now be hearing the case.

Michigan: New Language submitted in Albion mayoral recall

A recall effort against Mayor Garrett Brown has been resubmitted -- the original was rejected. The original petition seemed to be about a negative evaluation for the city manager which ed to her letter of resignation, which was then rescinded. The lead petitioners, Chad Baase, lost in the mayoral race last year.

Alaska: Unalaska Mayor petitions approved

Petitions have been approved against Mayor Frank Kelty over an attempt to sole-source a land-use agreement at the Unalaska Marine Center. Petitioners need 168 signatures in 60 days.

California: Newport Beach Councilman turns in signature-withdrawals

Councilman Scott Peotter has handed in 1783 signature-withdrawal signatures over the past few weeks (withdrawals can be handed in incrementally but must come in before the actual signatures for the recall). Petitioners handed in 10688 signatures -- they need 8445 verifieds. Petitioners have reportedly raised $80,000 and Peotter has raised $40,000.

Nevada: A look at the use of the recall in the state

Thanks to GOP efforts against three state Senators, the Silver State is now in the recall spotlight. I’ve written a bit on the history of using recalls to flip a legislative chamber, but I want to focus on Nevada’s peculiar use of the recall and the likelihood of the success in just getting on the ballot.

Nevada is not a big user of recalls – the state has only seen two recalls get to the ballot since 2011, a Storey County Sheriff this year and a Las Vegas Councilman in 2012. Both of those officials survived the vote. There were also at least 17 other attempts to recall an official that failed since 2012.

In 2009, there were two recalls both in the same city, with a split result (one official winning, and one losing). Ballotpedia also notes a 1980 recall. This article notes that there have been 150 attempted recalls since 1993 – that number is presumably coming from the Secretary of State’s office, so that is presumably the amount of times that someone has taken out a petition against an elected official. Most of the time that is both the beginning and the end of the process, as no signatures are handed in to force a recall. A survey of recalls in the 1970s suggested that there were 12 local recalls in Nevada during that decade, which is still more than in the last decade.

No state legislator is reported to have ever faced a recall since the state first adopted the recall in 1912, though there  was an intramural 2015 attempt against three Republican Assemblymembers (including the Speaker) and a state Senator over gun control issues, as well as threats against Governors. The current recall attempts are against Senator Joyce Woodhouse (D), 14412 signatures needed, 17465 turned in; Senator Patricia Farley (Nonpartisan), which needs 7100 signatures, and Senator Nicole Cannizzaro (D) which needs 14108.

The Blocker: Nevada Supreme Court’s Active Rulings Limiting Recalls

Nevada’s Supreme Court has been very active in limiting the recall. This year, the Court ruled that judges are exempt from recalls (in what I consider a very poorly reasoned decision). In 2010, the unanimously ruled that the signatures had to be from people who actually voted in that last election. Being a registered voter is not enough. The voter actually had to be shown that he or she actually cast a ballot in the previous race (the original baseline was actually for a Supreme Court race). This decision overturned a 2009 Nevada law that opened up the signature line to be any registered voter.

Outside of that unusual provision, the rest of Nevada's recall law is standard -- you get 90 days to collect the signatures, and you need 25% of the total turnout when the position was last up for a vote. That means it is all of the voters who came out to vote, not just those who voted for the Senate seat position. This distinction does matter, as there are real drop-offs for down ballot elections (this sites quotes a paper noting a 15% drop-off). So the 25% is harder than many states, like Wisconsin, that require 25% of turnout for that specific race. However, other states (NJ – which also rarely has recalls make the ballot) require the signatures of 25% of registered voters. This is a higher standard than Nevada, though NJ doesn’t require the signers to have actually cast a ballot in the last election.

Ballot Access News' Richard Winger noted that the Nevada's Supreme Court decision arguably violated federal law. Richard (who really knows this area) argues that the Supreme Court in Bush v. Gore and elsewhere have held that past votes cannot be used to bar signing petitions or from voting. Since the Nevada decision was not appealed to the federal courts, only a future decision would decide this point.

Signature Failure Rate Comparisons:

The signature failure rates -- meaning signatures tossed out for not conforming to the rules for whatever reason -- vary greatly from state to state. But there does seem to be some intrastate conformity. So in California, 15% failure is not unusual, same with Michigan. But in Arizona and Colorado, we frequently see 40% reject rates. Why this happens is not clear -- could be the law, could be attempts to protect incumbents, or it could be that the county clerks take a much harsher line on signature issues. But it does seem to be a pattern. In Colorado in 2013 we saw a recall that reversed this trend, as petitioners managed to limit the failure rate to 6%, but as a rule, it is a major issue.

It is not clear if Nevada has a high signature failure rate or not. At one point I did assume that it does – one recall had a 38% failure rate – but other recalls suggest that it may not high at all (the Storey County Sheriff's recall petitions had about an 18% failure rate). In that case, the cushion that petitioners have in the state Senate recalls may be enough to clear the bar. Of course, we can expect the Senators’ backers to go through every signature to make sure that they voted last time.

The attempted 2015 recalls against Assembly Speaker John Hambrick and two assembly members, Chris Edwards and Stephen Silberkraus all failed to garner enough signatures – and the requirement for a Hambrick recall on the ballot was low enough (4116) that it would seem to  have been a reasonable bet (obviously, the Senate and Assembly districts have different population sizes). However, that was an intraparty battle, so it may simply have been very difficult to get the signatures. In this case, you have supporters in one entire party that may be excited to sign.

Choosing the Replacement:

Generally, the recall is basically a new election. All the candidates run, and whoever gets the most votes wins (the First Past the Post system). Arizona and Michigan have this type of recall law (Wisconsin has a similar one, but also includes a party primary).

There is one wrinkle that doesn’t really affect the Senate races. If no one enters the race, there is a "for" or "against" recall vote with just the elected official on the ballot. If the official loses, then the replacement is chosen in the "manner provided by law." For the Nevada state legislature, that would be a special election, In this case, the elected official who was just removed in the recall vote would probably be able to run again in the replacement special election. 

Washington: Black Diamond Councilmember recall approved by State Supreme Court

The recall against Councilmember Pat Pepper has been approved over Open Meeting Act violations, refusals to attend meeting and approve minutes and a failure to enact a 2017 budget.

California: Recall effort being discussed against Santa Barbara County Supervisor

Supervisor Joan Hartmann is hearing recall threats over a vote to develop Camp 4, a parcel of land the Santa Ynez Valley Band of Chumash Indians are looking to for housing and a cultural center.

Minnesota: Tracy Councilman Survives February 13 recall vote

The City Council set the recall of City Councilman Troy Peterson for February 13, but only after Peterson attempted to push a motion to set it himself. The Mayor did not want Peterson to vote on the motion, so he abstained. The petition was signed by 130 registereds and claimed that Peterson overstepped his authority and bullied a former city administrator.

Minnesota's recall law has generally shot down all recalls, but this one does seem to be moving forward.

Update: Peterson survived the recall 211-174.

Virginia: Recall effort started against Charlottesville City Council

Petitions have been taken out against the entire City Council, including Mayor Mike Signer, Vice Mayor Wes Bellamy, Councilors Kristin Szakos, Kathy Galvin and Bob Fenwick. Two of them are out regardless at the end of the year, as Fenwick lost his primary race and Szakos is not running again.

New Jersey: Mahwah Mayor facing petitions

The second recall effort against Mayor William Laforet has started over his backing (and then moving away from) an ordinance banning non-NJ residents from township parks. NJ Attorney General filed a suit claiming the effort was aimed at Orthodox Jews.

Laforet faced a recall effort in 2015 over opening of an ice rink. Petitioners need about 4100 signatures to get the recall on the ballot.

California: Los Angeles Councilmember facing recall effort over road diet plan

Petitioners are set to start the recall effort against Councilman Mike Bonin over his road diet plan -- the DOT's removal of 9.4 miles of traffic lanes to prevent pedestrian deaths. Bonin announced in July that lanes would be restored and the plan ended in Vistia del Mar.

Petitioners need 27,000 signatures and claim to have raised over $100,000. Since he was just elected, they cannot start gathering until October. One of the petitioners is Mike Ryavec, who lost to Bonin in the last election in 2017.

Nevada: Signatures handed in against first State Senator

Petitioners handed in 17465 signatures against Senator Joyce Woodhouse (D), they need 14412 -- the Registrar is going to do a hand count, than a random sampling of 5% of signatures to verify that the voters voted in 2016. Presumably Woodhouse's supporters will sample the other 95%.

Democrats have collected 789 declined-to-sign signatures, so that may lower the signature total.

Nebraska: Broken Bow Board of Ed recall request denied by district court judge

A Custer County District Court Judge reject a push to force the Board of Elections to set a recall for Chairman Carl French, with the judge holding that the recall was filed too late. Petitioners handed in 518 valids (they needed 454), but there was a question of the filing of the deadline.

Washington: State Supreme Court okays Yakima County Clerk recall effort

After saying they were dropping the recall effort, a Supreme Court decision has revived the recall attempt against Clerk Janelle Riddle (as well as one against Black Diamond Councilwoman Patricia Pepper). Petitioners need nearly 11000 signatures.

California: Over 10,000 signatures handed in against Newport Beach Councilman

Over 10,688 signatures have been handed in against Councilman Scott Peotter, petitioners need 8445. The issue was Peotter's vote over a condominium project.

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Lousiana: Petitioner claims 40,000 signatures stolen from his car in Jefferson Parish Recall

The lead petitioner in the failed recall of Parish President Mike Yenni over claims that he propositioned a 17 year old boy has now taken a further turn to the ridiculous. Rather than producing the recall signatures (the recall failed months ago), the lead petitioner is now claiming he left them in his convertible and they were stolen from the floor.

Tennessee: Etowah commissioner facing recall threats over claims of sexual harassments comments on Facebook post

Commissioner Roby Helm is facing a recall threat after claims that he made sexual harassing comments about handcuff key. Petitioner would need 281 signatures.

Louisiana: Ferriday Mayor facing petitions

Mayor Sherrie Jacobs is facing petitions though it is not clear why except "she has done nothing at all comment." The lead petitioner was arrested on two bench warrants after picking up the petition, which he is tying to the petition-gathering effort.

Petitioner needs 700 signatures, and claims to have 400.

Nevada: Deadline approaching in recall of three Senators

Petitioners are due against State Senator Joyce Woodhouse on October 31, Senator Patricia Farley on November 9 and Nicole Cannizzaro on November 14.

Petitioners have now public face and have disconnected two of three phone numbers (with the third going to a non-set-up voice mail).

Taiwan: Signatures handed in against New Power Party Executive Chairman in recall for his support of same-sex marriage; Recall Set for December 16

26745 signatures were handed against Chairman Huang Kuo-chang, petitioners needed 25,119.

Update: The recall has been approved and is slated for December 16.

California: Six candidates file to run in Lake Forest January 2 recall

Six candidates, including a former mayor and two former failed candidates for the seat, have filed to run in the recall of Councilman Andrew Hamilton.

Montana: Pondera Sheriff recall set for December 19

Here

Michigan: Albion Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem facing recall effort

Mayor Garrett Brown and Mayor Pro Tem Sonya Brown are facing recall effort after the city manager resigned following her annual evaluation. The council members were scheduled to bote on a censure of Mayor Brown for an attempt to assume more authority. Chad Baase, who lost the 2016 mayoral race, is leading the recall effort.

Petitioners need 439 signatures to get the recall on the ballot for Brown and 96 signatures for Sonya Brown. Here's some more details on the procedure for the recall.

Wisconsin: Onalaska School Board recall signatures validated, recall to be held on November 28

Enough signatures were handed in against board member Jake Speed, with a recall to be held on November 28.

Missouri: Editorial questions the St. Louis County Councilman recall

Here -- there's some questions on who is behind the recall of Councilman Ernie Trakas

Idaho: Star Mayor and Councilman facing November 7 recall elections

Mayor Chad Bell and Councilman Kevin Nielsen are facing recall votes on November 7.

California: Santa Clara Assistant District Attorney raising funds for replacement race for Superior Court Judge

ADA Cindy Hendrickson is looking to raise $15000 in her race to succeed Judge Aaron Persky.

Washington: Yakima County Clerk recall dropped

The attempted recall of County Clerk Janelle Riddle was dropped after petitioners decided not to fight the case in court.

Minnesota: Tracy City Councilman recall petitions validated

Councilman Tony Peterson is facing a recall effort, with petitioners handing in 157 signatures -- they needed 130. Originally, petitions were found to have only 125 (as some voters were out of district), but the petitioners went and got 14 more, of which 5 were validated.

Peterson is accused of bullying city employees. Minnesota is a judicial recall/malfeasance standard state, so there is a good likelihood that the recall will be rejected by the court.

Oregon: Sherwood Council President and Councilor kicked out in recall vote

President Jennifer Harris (72% against) and Councilor Sally Robinson (75% against) appear to have been kicked out over their decision to remove the YMCA from handling the contract for the city-owned recreation center. Final results are not yet available.

Michigan: 18 candidates file for Flint mayor recall

Here

California: Los Angeles Unified School Board President facing charges over political money laundering

President Ref Rodriguez stepped down from the presidency by remains a member of the board following charges that he authorized $285,000 in payments to a nonprofit that he led.  The teachers' union has been highly critical of Rodriguez, but has not taken out a petition yet. They would need about 45,000 signatures to get the recall on the ballot.

Texas: Laredo Councilman not kicked out by council, may face recall effort

Councilman Vidal Rodriguez survived a push to be thrown out of office by the council after being found guilty of disclosing the sealed juvenile criminal record of a former opponent. The vote was 4-2-2. We'll see if there's any recall push.

North Dakota: Courtenay Council member kicked out in recall

Councilman John Bailey lost his seat in a recall, 17-11 (28 of 43 voters cast ballots). Shane Moran, who led the recall effort, was elected. The petition complains about Bailey's behavior, though Bailey stated that it was about the sewer system.

Nevada: Lawsuit against State Senate recalls

Marc Elias, Hillary Clinton's former General Counsel, has filed suit to stop the recall effort against three state Senators in Nevada, two of whom, Joyce Woodhouse and Nicole Cannizzaro are Democrats and one a Republican-turned-independent, Patricia Farley. The recall effort has the support of Lieutenant Governor Marc Hutchinson's (R) law firm and the heavy support of GOP state Senate leader Michael Roberson, so this is a very partisan affair. If all three would be removed, the Republicans would regain control of the state senate.

The argument that Elias makes against the recall seems very unlikely, though the Nevada Supreme Court has been willing to accept questionable arguments against recalls in the past. Elias seems to be claiming that it places an undue burden on voters, it undermines the republican system and that it is a violation of the federal Voting Rights Act because it disproportionately affects minority voters.

Petitioners need 14412 signatures against Woodhouse by October 31, 14108 against Cannizzaro by November 14 and 7104 against Fairley by November 9.

Nevada has a very strange, possibly unconstitutional, recall law that requires any petition signer to have voted in the previous election.

Texas: Three Councilmembers facing recall efforts

Odessa Councilmembers Barbara Graff, Malcolm Hamilton and Filiberto Gonzales are all facing recall threats following the firing of of the City Manager and other battles. One former mayor Larry Melton, seemed to criticize them for operating as a block.

Petitioners need about 2000 signatures to get on the ballot.

California: LA Times column on the difficulty of successful recalls in California

John Myers' article notes that there have been 163 recall attempts against California officials (clearly, that is referring only to state-level officials) since 1913 and 89 in the last 25 years. The author argues:

"The successful recalls seemed to hinge on whether the politician in question was the symbol for a larger battle."

Montana: Pondera County Sheriff recall gets the signatures

Signatures have been verified in the recall of Sheriff Carl Suta. Petitioners needed 530 signatures to get on the ballot over claims of abuse of power and incompetence.

Ohio: Newton Falls Mayor kicked out in 2010 recall looking to remove mayor and councilman

This one is interesting -- Mayor Lyle Wadddell and Councilman John Baryak (who was removed in a recall in 1992) are facing a recall effort  led by former Mayor Patrick Layshock, who is running as a write-in for the council. Layshock was removed in a recall vote in 2010 and replaced by Waddell.

Louisiana: Welsh Alderman recall effort fails

The recall effort against Alderman Colby Perry failed -- petitioners needed 695 signatures, and claim they got over 500. The Mayor and the police chief have filed defamation suits against Perry and the claim is his making unjustified allegations, focusing on procedural issues, making unreasonable demands on town employees and the truly nebulous "manipulating the media."

Florida: Madeira Beach City Commission members facing recall threats

A vote to appoint the former Fire Chief as the new City Manager has led to a recall threat against Vice Mayor John Douthirt and Commissioner Nancy Oakley, as well as a later effort that is being threatened against Mayor Maggi Black. The leader of the effort represented the former City Manager and his wife, who was the City Clerk. There is also an issue of a controversial hotel development.

North Dakota: Courtnenay Councilman facing recallvote on October 16

Council member John Bailey is facing a recall vote over claims of conduct unbecoming a council member, though Bailey claims it is about the sewer system. Bailey was elected as a write-in. They Mayor and her husband signed the petitions (which only needed 5 signatures, they got 16).

Southwest Airlines Flight Attendant Union recall fails

An attempt to recall union President Audrey Stone appears to have failed, though the petitioners have not given up yet. Petitioners handed in 7558 signatures, they need 7058. However, only 4055 were counted as valid.

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California: Trump supporters start recall against Governor Jerry Brown

They would need 878,110 valid signatures to get on the ballot. Brown is term-limited and out of office by 2018.

North Carolina: Pinehurst to hold hearing on adding recall election provision

The Pinehurst Village Council agreed to hold a hearing on whether to add a recall. Lots of twists and turns on the way to approval though.

California: San Diego Councilman facing recall threatened

Councilman Chris Cate (R) is being threatened with a recall over the leaking of city documents to a developer of SoccerCity.

California: Three Westmorland Councilmembers hit with recall petitions

Councilmembers Ana Beltran, Henry Graham and Larry Ritchie over complaints about the hiring of a new police chief and questions about pay for the previous police chief.

Petitioners need 219 signatures.

California: Lake Forest Recall set for January 2

The recall of Councilman Andrew Hamilton has been set for January 2, though some want a Janaury 9 date. The special is estimated to cost between $215,805 and $240,253.

Petitioners handed in 9155 valids. They needed 8834.

Florida: Greenwood Mayor recall petitions started

Mayor Phyllis Bowman is facing a recall effort and needs at least 50 signatures to move forward through the first stage. Petitioners had 73. Bowman is accused of ordering employees to work when the Governor called for governmental employees to stand down during Hurricane Irma as well as disciplining employees. If it meets the first hurdle, petitioners would need 15% of registered to get on the ballot.

Oregon: Roseburg City Council recall fails

Petitioners didn't hand in any signatures in the recall against City Councilor Ashley Hicks. They needed 288 and claimed they had half that. The issue was Hicks vote to grant a new liquor license (though the vote failed).

Wisconsin: Eleva-Strum School Board President resigns after signatures handed in

President Lois Havenor resigned after signatures were handed in for her recall over transparency issues and a claim. of retaliation against a special-ed teacher. 528 signatures were handed in, petitioners needed 412. Havenor was president for two decades.

Kenya: Recall law declared unconstitutional, election commission asks for clear procedures

Here

Michigan: Strange Macomb County Clerk/Register of Deeds election unlikely to result in recall

Very interesting case here, as a stunning upset in the Macomb County Celerk race in November by Karen Spranger (an unemployed welfare receipt who was running against against a former state legislator) has led to questions of whether Spranger lived in the county at the time. The article discusses recalls, though it dismisses the idea out of hand, noting that they would need 66,276 signatures to get on the ballot.

California: Calaveras County Supervisor hit with recall petition over support for commercial cannabis industry

Supervisor Jack Garamendi was hit with with a recall petition over his support for regulating the cannabis industry. He was elected in November, running unopposed. Petitioners would need about 1300 signatures.

Oregon: Huntington Mayor, three council members facing recall effort

Mayor Candy Howland and Councilmembers Richard Cummings, John McLean and Cindy Deck are all facing recall efforts over claims of hostile work environment, open meetings violations and the like. Petitioners would need 37 signatures.

Wisconsin: Fitchburg Mayor facing recall effort over cuts to nonprofits

Mayor Jason Gonzalez is facing threats of a recall over funding cuts to several nonprofits. Gonzalez cannot face a recall until the Spring.

Oregon: Hubbard City Councilors resign before recall

Councilors Shannon Schmidt and Bradley Williams both resigned before an upcoming recall vote, right after Mayor Thia Estes also resigned (as did Estes' husband from the city planning commission). The issue that prompted the recall was a move to consider contracting with the Marion County Sheriff's Office rather than hiring a police chief.

Oregon: Sherwood Mayor resigning before recall vote

Mayor Kirsanna Clark-Endicott has resigned before her October 17 recall, claiming that she is moving to Redmond to be with her husband, who is Mayor of Redmond (George Endicott). City Councilors Sally Robinson and Jennifer Harris are still facing the October 17 vote over their vote in favor of negotiations with an out-of-state health fitness company to handle the contract of a city-owned recreation center.

Wisconsin: Signatures handed in against Onalaska School Board member

Petitioners handed in 2356 signatures for the recall of School Board member Jake Speed over claims that he refused to attend board meetings, threatened and harassed employees and was cited for threatening to pull a gun on a utility worker. They need 1743.

Arizona: My Op-ed in The Hill over Senatorial Recall law

Here it is

Canada: Editorial in favor of recall law

Here

Oregon: Hubbard Mayor resigns rather than face a recall

Mayor Thia Estes resigned less than a year unto her term, with the criticism of a contract with the Marion County Sheriff's Office for police services. Petitioners also targeted Councillor Bradley Williams.

Alaska: Cordova Councilman facing November 7 recall vote

Councilman Josh Hallquist is facing a vote on November 7 over claims of defamation of character threats and disrespect to others. .

Kansas: Democratic Party Secretary removed in recall vote

Party Secretary Casey Yingling was removed in a 121-54 vote over accusations of self-dealing for advocating money be spent on a Congressional candidate who was a client.

Montana: Signatures handed in for Pondera County Sheriff recall

Petitioners have handed over 550 signatures for the recall of Sheriff Carl Suta, they need 530. The recall is over claims of incompetence in office.