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Ballotpedia's 2019 Recall Analysis
 |
Year-end report |
151 separate recall efforts |
Michigan Tennessee Oregon Los Angeles, California |
December 20, 2019 (updated September 17, 2024)
By Ballotpedia staff
In 2019, fewer state and local recall efforts were started or reached the ballot compared to 2018:
- The 151 recall efforts against 234 officials in 2019 were less than the 185 efforts against 307 officials in 2018.
- Recall efforts against 71 officials reached the ballot in 2019 (30.47% of officials named in recall efforts) compared to 126 officials in 2018 (41.18% of officials named in recall efforts).
- City council officials were targeted the most for recall in 2019. There were 92 city council members targeted in 2019. School board members faced the second-most recall efforts with 47. In comparison, 98 city council officials and 74 school board members were targeted in 2018.
- California took back the top spot in 2019 with the number of officials named in recall efforts with 37. The state previously had the most recall efforts in 2015, 2016, and 2017. Colorado (27 officials) and Idaho (23 officials) were second and third in 2019.
Notable recalls across the second half of 2019 included the following:
- In California, two recall efforts were still underway against Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) at the time of publication. The recall petitions listed the rate of homelessness, tax increases, sanctuary city policies, and providing healthcare to immigrants living in the country illegally as some of the reasons for recall.
- Michigan state Rep. Larry Inman (R) was targeted for recall due to his indictment on three felony counts and missing more than 80 votes during the 2019 legislative session. The recall was rejected by the Michigan Bureau of Elections on November 29, 2019, due to a typo in the signature petitions.
- Two members on the Jackson-Madison County School System school board in Tennessee were targeted for recall for being too resistant to Superintendent Eric Jones and his plan for the district. The recall did not go to a vote after it was halted by Tennessee Chancery Court Judge James Butler in November 2019.
- In Oregon, Lexington Mayor Marcia Kemp was targeted for recall in response to a nine-day government shutdown. The recall ended after Kemp resigned about two weeks prior to the vote.
- In Los Angeles, California, Mayor Eric Garcetti (D) faced a recall effort that was still underway at the time of publication due to homelessness in the city.
Statistics
In 2019, Ballotpedia covered a total of 151 recall efforts against 234 officials. Efforts against 32 of those officials remained ongoing at the end of the year. Recall attempts targeting 123 officials did not make it to the ballot and are marked as "Unsuccessful" in the chart below. Of the 71 officials whose recalls made it to the ballot, 38 were recalled and 33 survived the attempt. Thirteen other officials resigned before their recalls could go to a vote. A breakdown of the various recall outcomes is displayed in the chart below:
Targets by state
California led the way in officials targeted for recall in 2019 with 37. Colorado and Idaho followed with 27 officials and 23 officials facing recall, respectively. To view the number of recalls in a particular state in the chart below, hover your mouse cursor over that state. Ballotpedia did not cover any recall efforts in 2019 in the states shown in gray.
When adjusted for state population using the U.S. Census Bureau's July 2018 population estimates, Idaho emerges as the recall leader with 1.31 officials included in recall efforts per 100,000 residents. It is followed by North Dakota (1.19 per 100,000 residents) and Maine (1.12 per 100,000 residents).
Notable recalls
Gavin Newsom recall, Governor of California
In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is being targeted by two recall efforts. Both recalls were approved for circulation in September 2019 and have been endorsed by the California Republican Party.[1]
The first recall, which was submitted by Erin Cruz, was approved for circulation by Secretary of State Alex Padilla (D) on September 6, 2019. Supporters of that recall have until February 13, 2020, to collect 1,495,709 signatures to force a recall election. The recall petition alleges that Newsom mismanaged the state and caused poor schools, deteriorating infrastructure, high costs for gas and utilities, and increased homelessness and debt. Her recall petition also criticized Newsom's support of certain policies, which included Medicare for All and laws that aid immigrants living in the country illegally.[2]
The second recall was submitted by James Veltmeyer and approved for circulation by Padilla on September 27, 2019. Supporters of that recall have until March 5, 2020, to collect 1,495,709 signatures to force a recall election. The recall petition criticizes Newsom due to tax increases, the rate of homelessness in major cities, sanctuary city policies, and his support for providing healthcare to immigrants living in the country illegally.[3][4]
In August 2019, Newsom issued a statement in response to both recall petitions. Newsom said that the recall will cost state taxpayers $81 million and is being led by supporters of President Donald Trump (R).[5][6] Since 1911, there have been 51 attempts to recall a sitting California governor. The only recall campaign to succeed was in 2003 when former California Gov. Gray Davis (D) was recalled by voters. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) was elected as Gray's replacement.[7]
Larry Inman recall, Michigan House of Representatives
An effort to recall state Rep. Larry Inman (R) from the Michigan House of Representatives was rejected by the state Bureau of Elections on November 29, 2019, due to a typo in the signature petitions. Supporters of the recall submitted 13,870 signatures—1,669 more than what was required—on November 22 in an effort to trigger a recall election. The original petition language—approved in July—described one of the charges against Inman’s as, “Attempted extortion under color of official right.” The signed petitions submitted in November omitted the word “right.” In a letter to recall organizers, Director of Elections Sally Williams wrote, “While the omission of one word may seem inconsequential and the rejection of a recall petition on such grounds as excessively technical and harsh, the recall statute does not authorize the bureau to excuse differences between the reasons for recall approved by the board and those printed on the recall petitions.”
On December 2, 2019, recall organizers asked the state's Court of Appeals to require the state Bureau of Elections to begin validating the 13,870 petition signatures ahead of the January 10, 2020, deadline to certify the March primary ballot. Recall attorney Michael Naughton said in a statement, "The recall effort has been an enormous lift for our community and a complex process. Human error is unavoidable. The bottom line is that meaningless typos should not silence the voices of nearly 14,000 voters."[8]
According to the petition language, supporters tried to recall Inman due to his indictment on three felony counts and missing more than 80 votes during the 2019 legislative session. Federal prosecutors charged Inman in May 2019 with extortion, lying to the FBI, and lying to investigators about texts soliciting contributions. After the indictment was announced, Inman was stripped of his committee assignments, removed from the GOP caucus, and was not allowed access to his office. On December 10, 2019, Inman was found not guilty of making a false statement to the FBI. The jury could not reach a decision on the charges of attempted extortion and soliciting a bribe. Following the verdict, a spokesperson for House Speaker Lee Chatfield (R) said that Inman will still not have access to his office, the caucus, or be allowed back on his committees.[9]
Kevin Alexander and Doris Black recall, Jackson-Madison County School System, Tennessee
A recall election seeking to remove Doris Black from her position as the District 4, Position 1 representative on the Jackson-Madison County School System school board in Tennessee was halted by Tennessee Chancery Court Judge James Butler in November 2019.[10] Butler cited the probability of Black winning a legal case against the recall effort, the irreparable financial harm that could be done to Black if she were required to campaign again for a seat she'd already won, and the injury done to the defendant's reputation because of public interest in the election. Butler then ordered the Madison County Election Commission to take no further action in the recall election against Black.[11]
Because of the ruling, the recall effort did not go to a vote. The election was scheduled to be held on December 10, 2019.[12] For the recall election to be successful, 66% of voters in the district would have had to vote in favor of recalling Black.[13]
Black was targeted for recall along with District 2 representative Kevin Alexander for being too resistant to Superintendent Eric Jones and his plan for the district, according to district resident Robert Curlin.[14] Curlin also said, “Last I heard, if you elect someone to represent you, they’re there to represent what their citizens want, not what they want personally."[14] District parent Sherry Franks helped with the recall effort against Black. “We don’t feel that she communicates with us,” Franks said. “We don’t feel that she votes in the manner that parents have requested.”[15]
In response to the recall effort, Alexander said that neither he nor Black had done anything unethical. Alexander said, “They can recall me if they want to. I’m fine with that. I’m not going to retaliate, I’m not going to go after anybody, I’m not going to encourage anybody to do a petition on anybody."[14] Black said that she felt attacked by the recall effort against her.[16] She said she felt she has always had open communication with both her constituents and the superintendent. "I have nobody in the school system that I’m working for except for the schools and the community,” Black said.[16]
Residents of the district did not have the ability to recall board members legally until May 10, 2019, when House Bill 0983 was signed into law by Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R).[17][18] Recall supporters had to collect approximately 1,151 signatures from residents of the school board's District 4 to get Black's recall on the ballot. Those signatures were equal to 66% of the votes that Black received in the previous election.[13] To get Alexander's recall on the ballot, recall supporters would have had to collect approximately 559 signatures.[19]
Marcia Kemp recall, Lexington, Oregon
In Lexington, Oregon, a recall election targeting Mayor Marcia Kemp was set to be on the ballot on October 22, 2019. Kemp resigned from her position on October 10, 2019.
Petitioners began gathering signatures in July 2019 in response to a nine-day government shutdown in Lexington. The shutdown occurred as a result of three of the four city councilors missing a budget hearing two days before the end of the fiscal year. Kemp was accused by the three missing councilors of not sending them reminders about the meeting in order to make them look bad. Kemp disputed that claim and alleged that the three members didn't show up in order to make her look bad. Petitioners were required to submit valid signature equal to 15% of the total number of votes cast in Kemp’s electoral district for all candidates for governor at the last election at which a candidate for governor was elected to a full term.
In her letter of resignation, Kemp said, "Recently, Lexington’s town recorder and maintenance personnel resigned due to a hostile work environment, which is my biggest disappointment as I was unable to protect them. Many in our town have been working hard applying for grants and established partnerships to help us make Lexington great with a bright future. As much as I would like to pursue improving the Town of Lexington, the council has prevented me fulfilling my duties, so it is time to step aside and resign effective immediately. However, I will continue to be an active community member and on a positive note, I have been recruited to help other communities and organizations with their goals and missions and look forward to contributing my time and effort."
Eric Garcetti recall, Los Angeles, California
An effort in Los Angeles, California, to recall Mayor Eric Garcetti (D) was initiated in June 2019. Petitions were approved for circulation on October 25, 2019. Petitioners are required to submit 315,724 valid signatures by February 6, 2020.
Resident Alexandra Datig organized the recall effort in response to homelessness in Los Angeles. Datig stated that Garcetti had not done enough to address growing homelessness in the city. The notice of intent to recall stated, "Garcetti has failed to prevent homelessness in Los Angeles, causing a serious risk to all of the public health with reported diseases such as typhoid-fever, tuberculosis and other fecal and rodent, flea and bedbug-borne diseases. Garcetti's inaction, lack of prioritization for the citizens of Los Angeles caused third-world conditions, with diseases breeding devastation on the homeless who are forced to live and die in conditions that are a danger to all of the public health."
Bill Carrick, a campaign consultant for Garcetti, responded to the filing of the recall effort in June. He said, "The mayor has invested time, effort, energy and focus to try and deal with what is a city crisis. To play games with a stunt-driven recall is just unfortunate." On June 11, 2019, prior to the recall effort, Garcetti issued a statement on homelessness in Los Angeles. He said he took responsibility for the issue and detailed current and future plans to address the problem. The mayor's office later published a page on its website addressing the issue of homelessness.
See also
- Recall overview
- Political recall efforts
- Political recall efforts, 2019
- Laws governing recall
- Ballotpedia's Mid-Year Recall Report (2019)
- Ballotpedia's 2018 Recall Analysis
Footnotes
- ↑ The Sacramento Bee, "California GOP signs onto recall campaigns against Gavin Newsom to boost its fundraising," December 2, 2019
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "RECALL OF GOVERNOR GAVIN NEWSOM; CALENDAR OF EVENTS," accessed September 9, 2019
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "RECALL OF GOVERNOR GAVIN NEWSOM; CALENDAR OF EVENTS," September 27, 2019
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Current Recall Efforts," accessed November 1, 2019
- ↑ Times of San Diego, "Governor Gavin Newsom's Answer to Recall Statement," accessed August 19, 2019
- ↑ Facebook, "RAN Action Fund," August 24, 2019
- ↑ San Francisco Chronicle, "Recall Gavin Newsom? The time is right, GOP activists say," November 26, 2019
- ↑ Bridge, "Quid pro quo? Larry Inman trial to test limits of campaign cash solicitations," December 2, 2019
- ↑ Detroit Free Press, "Inman not guilty of lying to FBI; hung jury on bribery and extortion," December 10, 2019
- ↑ The Recall Elections Blog, "Tennessee: Judge halts Jackson-Madison School Board recall," November 17, 2019
- ↑ Jackson Sun, "Court orders Madison Co. Election Comm. to stop recall election against Doris Black," November 15, 2019
- ↑ WBBJ 7 News, "Petition to recall school board member reaches signature requirement," September 24, 2019
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Jackson Sun, "Organizer of recall effort against JMCSS board member Doris Black turns in petition signatures," September 6, 2019
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 WBBJ, "Madison County residents start petitions to recall two school board members," May 22, 2019
- ↑ WBBJ 7 Eye Witness News, "Update on the recall of JMCSS school board member," July 26, 2019
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 WBBJ 7 Eye Witness News, "JMCSS School Board member meets voters after recall petition," June 18, 2019
- ↑ WBBJ, "Gov. Lee signs bill allowing Madison County to recall school board members," May 16, 2019
- ↑ Tennessee General Assembly, "HB 0983," accessed May 23, 2019
- ↑ WBBJ, "School Board Recall Data," accessed May 23, 2019