Political recall efforts
This page lists all political recall efforts identified by Ballotpedia in the United States organized by year and level of government. Recalls are the process by which an elected official can be removed from office via a public vote before their term is completed.
If you are aware of a current or historical recall effort not listed on this page, please contact editor@ballotpedia.org to let us know.
Analysis
- See also: Ballotpedia's Recall Report
Recall success by year
From 2010 to 2024, Ballotpedia covered an average of 219 recall efforts against an average of 356 officials per year. Those recalls saw a 17% success rate.[1] The highest success rate happened in 2011 when 83 of the 308 officials targeted for recall were removed from office in a recall election, a success rate of 27%. The lowest success rate happened in 2021 when 25 of the 545 officials targeted for recall were removed from office in a recall election, a success rate of 5%.
Ballotpedia tracked 248 recall efforts against 387 officials in 2024. A total of 77 of the officials targeted for recall were removed from office in a recall election, a success rate of 20%. Thirty-three officials defeated a recall election to stay in office.
The chart below shows how many officials were included in recall efforts as well as how many of them defeated recall elections to stay in office and how many were removed from office in recall elections from 2010 to 2024.
See also
- Recall
- Laws governing recall
- Political recall efforts by office
- Political recall efforts by state
- Ballotpedia's Recall Report
Footnotes
- ↑ The success rate was calculated by dividing the number of recalled officials by the total number of officials who were targeted for recall.