Jared Polis recall, Governor of Colorado (2020)
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An effort to recall Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) was launched on September 14, 2020. Supporters of the recall had up to 60 days—or no later than November 13, 2020—to collect the 631,266 signatures needed to require a recall election. Recall organizers did not submit any signatures by the deadline.[1]
Recall supporters criticized Polis over his response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Polis was elected as Colorado's governor in 2018 with 53.4% of the vote. Prior to the 2018 election, John Hickenlooper (D) served as governor from 2011 to 2019.
To read about other recall efforts related to the coronavirus and government responses to the pandemic, click here.
Recall supporters
The recall petition was introduced by Lori Ann Cutunilli and Greg Merschel. It was approved for circulation on September 14, 2020. According to the recall petition, Polis was targeted for recall for the following reasons:
| “ |
1. Whereas Governor Polis has abused his emergency power by exceeding the scope of his powers under Colorado's Disaster Emergency Act by issuing a Disaster Declaration through executive order as a vehicle to legitimize confining residents to their homes, forbidding travel, closing businesses and mandating wearing of masks thereby depriving citizens of liberty and property without due process of law. 2. Whereas Governor Polis overstepped his powers and infringed upon the role of the legislative branch when he spent the entirety of 1.6 billion dollars in CARES Act funds without consulting the legislative branch of the Colorado government. 3. Whereas Governor Polis issued unconstitutional Executive Order D2020065, intending to suspend certain statutes that required signature collection to be conducted in person and create temporary rules to allow signatures gathered via e-mail and by mail in violation of Article V Section 1(6) of the Colorado constitution. 4. Whereas Governor Polis explicitly discriminated against houses of worship by issuing Executive Order D2020017 and directing houses of worship to close their doors while allowing "necessary," locations such as marijuana shops to remain open under his stay at home order thereby interfering with the free exercise of religion in violation of Article I of the United States Constitution.[2] |
” |
| —Jared Polis Recall Petition Language[3] | ||
Recall opponents
After the recall was announced, Gov. Polis' office issued the following statement:[4]
| “ | Since day one, Governor Polis has been focused on delivering real results for Coloradans across the state, and he has done just that. He has delivered on his promise to provide free full-day kindergarten to Colorado’s children regardless of zip code, fought tooth and nail to lower the cost of health care, taken bold climate action putting Colorado on the path to 100% renewable energy by 2040, and cut taxes for small businesses. Now during this unprecedented pandemic, Colorado has been a model for the country thanks to the bold and swift actions taken by Governor Polis including being one of the first states to reopen. Like the majority of Coloradans, the Governor believes that playing politics during this challenging time for our state and country is simply inappropriate and shameful.[2] | ” |
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Colorado
First, a recall petition must be filed with the office in which nomination petitions are filed for the office that is being recalled. Generally, this office is the Colorado Secretary of State. The petition must include a statement of no less than 200 words explaining the ground on which the official is to be recalled. This regulation is for the benefit of citizens who will sign the petition.
After the petition is approved by the Secretary of State, circulation of the petition may begin. Petitioners have 60 days to gather the proper number of signatures. The number of valid signatures required to force a special recall election is 25% of the votes cast in the last election for the official being recalled. After the proper number of signatures have been gathered the petition is submitted to the office in which it was filed to be deemed sufficient. This entails verifying the signatures. Once the petition has been deemed sufficient, the office in which it was filed will deliver the petition along with a certificate of its sufficiency to the governor who will then set a date for the recall election.
Ballotpedia covered 35 coronavirus-related recall efforts against 94 officials in 2022, accounting for 13% of recalls that year. This is a decrease from both 2020 and 2021. COVID-related recalls accounted for 37% of all recall efforts in both 2020 and 2021. In 2020, there were 87 COVID-related recalls against 89 officials, and in 2021, there were 131 against 214 officials.
The chart below compares coronavirus-related recalls to recalls for all other reasons in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
Election history
2018
General election
General election for Governor of Colorado
Jared Polis defeated Walker Stapleton, Scott Helker, and Bill Hammons in the general election for Governor of Colorado on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Jared Polis (D) | 53.4 | 1,348,888 | |
| Walker Stapleton (R) | 42.8 | 1,080,801 | ||
| Scott Helker (L) | 2.8 | 69,519 | ||
| Bill Hammons (Unity Party) | 1.0 | 25,854 | ||
| Total votes: 2,525,062 | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Korey Paul Starkey (Independent)
- Veronique Bellamy (G)
- George Allen Cantrell (Constitution Party)
- Michael Wilbourn (Independent)
- Kathleen Cunningham (Unaffiliated)
- Paul Willmon (Unaffiliated)
- Richard Osada (Independent)
- Matthew Wood (Independent)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Governor of Colorado
Jared Polis defeated Cary Kennedy, Michael Johnston, and Donna Lynne in the Democratic primary for Governor of Colorado on June 26, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Jared Polis | 44.5 | 283,340 | |
| Cary Kennedy | 24.7 | 157,396 | ||
| Michael Johnston | 23.5 | 149,884 | ||
| Donna Lynne | 7.3 | 46,382 | ||
| Total votes: 637,002 | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Noel Ginsburg (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Governor of Colorado
Walker Stapleton defeated Victor Mitchell, Greg Lopez, and Doug Robinson in the Republican primary for Governor of Colorado on June 26, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Walker Stapleton | 47.7 | 239,861 | |
| Victor Mitchell | 30.1 | 151,585 | ||
| Greg Lopez | 13.2 | 66,432 | ||
| Doug Robinson | 9.0 | 45,327 | ||
| Total votes: 503,205 | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Barry Farah (R)
Historical governor recalls
From 2003 to 2019, Ballotpedia tracked 58 gubernatorial recall efforts against 16 different governors. During that time, two recalls made the ballot and one governor was successfully recalled. Former California Gov. Gray Davis (D) was recalled by voters in 2003. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) was chosen as Davis' replacement. The only other governor to ever be successfully recalled was former North Dakota Gov. Lynn Frazier (R) in 1921. In 2012, Wisconsin voted to retain former Gov. Scott Walker (R) in the recall election. He received 53.1% of the vote.
See also
- Recall campaigns in Colorado
- Political recall efforts, 2020
- Gubernatorial recalls
- Jared Polis recall, Governor of Colorado (2019)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Colorado Sun, "Second effort to recall Gov. Jared Polis in as many years fails after group doesn’t turn in signatures," November 13, 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Recall Statement of Grounds," accessed September 22, 2020
- ↑ The Denver Channel, "Gov. Polis faces 2nd recall effort since taking office; organizers say he's usurping the legislature," September 15, 2020