Ballotpedia's 2020 Recall Analysis

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Recall elections in 2020: Year-end report
Statistics
301 targeted officials 238 separate recall efforts
Notable recalls
Pocatello-Chubbuck School District No. 25, Idaho Snohomish County, Washington Michigan Stevensville, Montana Seattle, Washington

December 22, 2020 (updated September 17, 2024)
By Ballotpedia staff

Ballotpedia’s coverage of recall efforts in 2020 showed an increase from 2019 and 2018, but the efforts were fewer than those in 2017 and 2016.

• The 238 recall efforts against 301 officials in 2020 was an increase from the 151 efforts against 234 officials in 2019. When compared to 2018, 2020 saw more overall recall efforts (238 to 185) but about the same number of targeted officials (301 to 307). Of the past five years, however, 2016 had the most recalls with 244 efforts against 374 officials.
• There were 35 successful recall efforts in 2020 compared to 38 in 2019 and 80 in 2018.
• In 2020, California again claimed the top spot for the number of officials targeted for recall with 42. Idaho and Colorado tied for second with 25. California led the field for the number of officials targeted in 2020, 2019, 2017, and 2016. The exception was 2018, when Michigan had 67 officials targeted for recall to California’s 64.

Notable recalls across the second half of 2020 included the following:

• In Idaho, three of the five members on the Pocatello-Chubbuck School District No. 25 board of trustees faced recall due to their support of a hybrid teaching model instituted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• In Washington, Snohomish County Sheriff Adam Fortney was the subject of two recall efforts after he announced in April 2020 that his office would not enforce restrictions Gov. Jay Inslee (D) instituted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• In Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) was the subject of 20 recall efforts in 2020. The efforts were related to executive orders she signed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• In Montana, Stevensville Mayor Brandon Dewey faced a recall due to allegations he had violated his oath of office by signing a $79,800 contract on behalf of the town without seeking approval from the town council.
• In Washington, Seattle Councilmember Kshama Sawant was the subject of a recall effort due to allegations she had relinquished the authority of her office to an outside political organization, misused city funds, disregarded COVID-19 regulations, and misused her official position.

Statistics

In 2020, Ballotpedia covered a total of 238 recall efforts against 301 officials. Efforts against 73 of those officials remained ongoing at the end of the year. Recall attempts targeting 197 officials did not make it to the ballot and are marked as Unsuccessful on the chart below. Of the 55 officials whose recalls made it to the ballot, 35 were recalled and 20 survived the attempt. Recall elections for another four officials were scheduled but had not yet been held. Nine other officials resigned before their recalls could go to a vote, and five officials' recalls were handled by judicial proceedings. A breakdown of the various recall outcomes is displayed in the chart below.

Though 301 officials had recalls started against them, some were the focus of multiple recall efforts. Those additional efforts were added to the chart below to detail the different statuses. Because of that, the total is 343 rather than 301.

Targets by state

California led the way in officials targeted for recall with 42 in 2020. Idaho and Colorado followed with 25. To view the number of recalls in a particular state, hover your mouse cursor over that state in the chart below. Ballotpedia did not cover recall efforts in 2020 in the states shown in gray.

When adjusted for state population using the U.S. Census Bureau's July 2020 population estimates, Idaho emerges as the recall leader with 0.71 recalls per 100,000 residents. It is followed by Alaska (0.68 recalls per 100,000 residents) and North Dakota (0.65 recalls per 100,000 residents).

Notable recalls

Pocatello-Chubbuck School District

See also: Pocatello-Chubbuck School District No. 25 recall, Idaho (2020)

An effort to recall three of the five members of the Pocatello-Chubbuck School District No. 25 board of trustees in Idaho began in September 2020.

Zone 1 representative Jackie Cranor, Zone 2 representative Janie Gebhardt, and Zone 5 representative Dave Mattson were named in the recall petitions after the board unanimously voted to continue using a hybrid teaching model (two days in-person and three days online) for middle school and high school students for the remainder of the first trimester of the 2020-2021 school year. The district started the hybrid model due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On November 13, 2020, the district sent a letter to families announcing that the hybrid teaching model would continue into the second trimester.

Recall supporters said the board was not fully representing the electorate on the issue of hybrid learning and other issues. The school district released a statement saying that the board weighs a number of factors when making decisions and that majority opinion does not always rule. Recall supporters submitted petition signatures on November 30, 2020.

The county verified enough signatures on December 10, 2020, to add the recall election to the ballot. Cranor, Gebhardt, and Mattson had until December 17, 2020, to step down or face a recall election. None of the board members stepped down.

Cranor, Gebhardt, and Mattson were also included in a 2018 recall effort against all five members who served on the board at the time. That effort started after the board voted to end the district's 20-year-old open enrollment policy that allowed students to choose which high school they attended. The leader of that recall put the effort on hold before the deadline to submit petitions. Click here to read more about that recall effort.

Adam Fortney, Snohomish County Sheriff

See also: Adam Fortney recall, Snohomish County, Washington (2020)

An effort to recall Adam Fortney from his position as sheriff of Snohomish County, Washington, has been approved to circulate petitions. The effort began after Fortney announced on Facebook in April 2020 that his office would not enforce restrictions Gov. Jay Inslee (D) set in place in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The recall petition said that Fortney had "endangered the peace and safety of the community and violated his statutory duties."

Fortney filed an appeal against the petition with the Washington Supreme Court on June 22, 2020. On September 10, 2020, the court ruled against one charge listed on the recall petition but allowed it to circulate with the other three charges. Recall supporters had to collect 44,494 signatures in six months to get the recall on the ballot.

Another recall effort against Fortney did not go to a vote in 2020. That recall petition said that Fortney "used his position as an elected official to encourage citizens to defy the law and violate the Governor’s Emergency Proclamations." It was approved for circulation on May 15, 2020, and was approved for circulation on June 2, 2020. Recall supporters did not meet the December 1, 2020, deadline to submit signatures.

In response to the recall efforts, Fortney said he stood by his statement that the sheriff's department "will not be enforcing an order preventing religious freedoms or constitutional rights." Fortney was elected sheriff on November 5, 2019, with 55% of the vote.

Gretchen Whitmer, Governor of Michigan

See also: Gretchen Whitmer recall, Governor of Michigan (2020)

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D)

In Michigan, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) has been the subject of 20 recall efforts in 2020. The Board of State Canvassers has approved nine recall petitions for circulation, rejected 10 recall petitions, and one recall effort was withdrawn by the petitioner. The recall petitions all criticize Whitmer over executive orders that she signed to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.

Supporters of each approved recall effort need to submit 1,062,647 signatures within a 60-day period to require a recall election. The 60-day period begins on the first day that signatures are collected. The recall petition must be submitted to the office of Michigan's secretary of state no later than 180 days after it was approved by the board.

According to Bobby Leddy, a spokesperson for Whitmer’s campaign, the petition language for each approved recall has been appealed to the state Court of Appeals. Michigan laws state that the reason for recall must be deemed factual and clear by the Board of State Canvassers before the recall petition can be placed in circulation. The board does not document a rationale for their determination, only the judgment of rejected or approved.

In June 2020, Christopher Mills, a senior adviser to Whitmer's campaign, said the following about the first approved recall effort by petitioner Chad Baase: "Michiganders know that the vast majority support the governor’s swift and aggressive action in the fight against COVID-19. The governor plans to fight this recall aggressively while staying focused on protecting Michigan families from the spread of COVID-19." On December 3, 2020, the Michigan Court of Appeals agreed with the Board of State Canvassers that Baase's fourth recall petition was factual and clear and could be circulated for signatures. However, Baase said in an interview with MLive that he did not intend to collect signatures to recall Whitmer. Even though Baase has abandoned the recall effort, the petition will remain active until the signature filing deadline has passed.

Brandon Dewey, Mayor of Stevensville

See also: Brandon Dewey recall, Stevensville, Montana (2020)

In Stevensville, Montana, a recall effort against Mayor Brandon Dewey was rejected by voters. The recall was organized by resident Leanna Rodabaugh after Dewey signed a $79,800 contract with First Call Computer Solutions on behalf of the town. Rodabaugh accused Dewey of violating his oath of office because contracts of that size would normally require approval from the town council. Rodabaugh said that the way the contract was signed bypassed the competitive bid and contract award process.

In response to the recall effort, Dewey said, "If you strictly took state law and municipal ordinance, I think, yes, a case could be made that there was some impropriety. But that’s only true if you completely ignore the purchasing policy which the council adopted a number of years ago and has reviewed on a regular basis since delegating this authority to department heads and the mayor."

A review by Stevensville City Attorney Scott Owens stated that Dewey did not violate the law because, while an agreement had been signed by the mayor for an amount of money that usually would require council approval, the money had been included in the budget that the council approved and was only being paid out incrementally. Owens said that Dewey's actions were close to illegality but did not "cross the line." Dewey argued to the Ravalli County Clerk and later in a lawsuit filed with the Ravalli County District Court that the recall should not have been approved for circulation on the grounds of validity. Dewey cited the review by Owens in his filings. Judge Howard Recht ruled that there were sufficient grounds for a recall effort against Dewey. Recht said that Dewey "acted outside the law and without legal authority" when he signed the contract with First Call Computer Solutions.

The recall election was originally scheduled to take place by mail-in ballots on August 4, 2020. Judge Recht ordered that the recall election be put on hold in order to hear arguments in court. The recall election was rescheduled for November 3, 2020, following the court's ruling. Dewey survived the recall election, with 584 votes against the recall and 535 votes in favor.

Kshama Sawant, Seattle City Council

See also: Kshama Sawant recall, Seattle, Washington (2020)

District 3 Councilmember Kshama Sawant

An effort to recall Seattle Councilmember Kshama Sawant is headed to the Washington Supreme Court. Sawant filed an appeal with the state supreme court after a Washington superior court judge certified four of the six grounds in the recall petition against her. Before a recall petition can move to the signature-gathering phase, Washington law requires that a judicial review must find legally sufficient grounds for recall under the Washington Constitution. The state supreme court is expected to consider Sawant’s appeal without hearing oral arguments during its conference on January 7, 2021.

The recall against Sawant was initiated on August 18, 2020, when petitioner Ernie Lou submitted a formal recall petition to the King County Elections Office. The four charges certified by the court allege that Sawant relinquished the authority of her office to an outside political organization; misused city funds for electioneering purposes; disregarded regulations related to COVID-19 by allowing people into city hall when it was closed to the public; and misused her official position by leading a protest march to Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan's private residence, the location of which is protected under state confidentiality laws. If Sawant's appeal is unsuccessful and the recall moves to the signature-gathering phase, petitioners would be required to gather over 10,700 signatures from registered voters to get the recall on the ballot, which equals 25% of the total votes cast in the last District 3 election held in 2019.

Kshama Sawant represents District 3 on the Seattle City Council. Though the office is officially nonpartisan, Sawant is a member of the Socialist Alternative Party and upon her election in 2013 was the first socialist elected to Seattle city government in 97 years. She was first elected to the council as an at-large member in 2013, when she beat four-term Democratic incumbent Richard Conlin 50.9% to 49.1%. When the council transitioned to district-based voting at the 2015 election, Sawant was re-elected to the council as the member for District 3. She won re-election to the District 3 seat in 2019 by 4.1 percentage points—51.8% to challenger Egan Orion's 47.7%. A total of 42,956 votes were cast in the 2019 District 3 election, with Sawant receiving 22,263 votes, Orion receiving 20,488, and the remainder being cast for write-in candidates.

See also

• Recall overview
• Political recall efforts
• Political recall efforts, 2020
• Laws governing recall
• Ballotpedia's Mid-Year Recall Report (2020)
• Ballotpedia's 2019 Recall Analysis