Editing Recall election (section)

==== History ====
[[File:Presenting Seattle recall petitions 1910.jpg|thumb|400 px|Submitting petitions for the recall of [[Seattle|Seattle, Washington]], mayor [[Hiram Gill]] in December 1910; Gill was removed by a recall election the following February, but voters returned him to the office in 1914]]
Recall first appeared in Colonial America in the laws of the General Court of the [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]] in 1631.<ref>Joshua Spivak, History News Network, http://hnn.us/articles/1660.html</ref> This version of the recall involved one elected body removing another official. During the [[American Revolution]], the [[Articles of Confederation]] stipulated that state legislatures might recall delegates from the [[Continental Congress]].<ref>Article V of the Articles of Confederation provided, "a power reserved to each state, to recall its delegates, or any of them, at any time within the year, and to send others in their stead, for the remainder of the Year."</ref> According to New York Delegate John Lansing, the power was never exercised by any state. The [[Virginia Plan]], issued at the outset of the [[Philadelphia Convention]] of 1787, proposed to pair recall with rotation in office and to apply these dual principles to the lower house of the national legislature. The recall was rejected by the Constitutional Convention. However, the anti-Federalists used the lack of recall provision as a weapon in the ratification debates.

Only two governors have ever been recalled. In 1921, Governor [[Lynn Frazier]] of [[North Dakota]] was [[1921 North Dakota gubernatorial recall election|recalled during a dispute about state-owned industries]]. In 2003, Governor [[Gray Davis]] of [[California]] was [[2003 California gubernatorial recall election|recalled over the state budget]]. Additionally, in 1988, a recall was approved against Governor [[Evan Mecham]] of [[Arizona]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Watkins |first=Ronald J. |title=High Crimes and Misdemeanors : The Term and Trials of Former Governor Evan Mecham |publisher=William Morrow & Co |location=New York |year=1990 |isbn=978-0-688-09051-7 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/highcrimesmisdem0000watk/page/194 194–195, 274] |url=https://archive.org/details/highcrimesmisdem0000watk/page/194 }}</ref> but he was impeached and convicted before it got on the ballot.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/13/us/arizona-s-supreme-court-blocks-a-special-gubernatorial-election.html |title=Arizona's Supreme Court Blocks A Special Gubernatorial Election |pages=A20:1 |work=The New York Times |date=April 13, 1988}}</ref>

In [[Alaska]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], [[Kansas]], [[Minnesota]], [[Montana]], [[Rhode Island]], and [[Washington (state)|Washington]], specific grounds are required for a recall. Some form of malfeasance or misconduct while in office must be identified by the petitioners. The target may choose to dispute the validity of the grounds in court, and a court then judges whether the allegations in the petition rise to a level where a recall is necessary. Anna Louise Strong, member of the Seattle School board, was recalled from her position in 1918, apparently on grounds that she was supporting extreme labour positions.<ref>"Statement by Anna Louise Strong regarding the proposed recall..." https://digitalcollections.lib.washington.edu/digital/collection/pioneerlife/id/29098/rec/10</ref> In the November 2010 general election, [[Illinois]] passed a [[referendum]] to amend the state constitution to allow a recall of the state's governor, in light of former Governor [[Rod Blagojevich corruption charges|Rod Blagojevich's corruption scandal]]. In the other eleven states that permit statewide recall, no grounds are required and recall petitions may be circulated for any reason. However, the target is permitted to submit responses to the stated reasons for recall.

The minimum number of signatures to qualify a recall, and the time limit to do so, vary among the states. In addition, the handling of recalls, once they qualify, differs. In some states a recall triggers a simultaneous special election, where the vote on the recall, as well as the vote on the replacement if the recall succeeds, are on the same ballot. In the 2003 California recall election, over 100 candidates appeared on the replacement portion of the ballot. In other states, a separate special election is held after the target is recalled, or a replacement is appointed by the Governor or some other state authority.

The largest amount of recalls in the United States were held in 2021, as 529 officials faced recalls, but it had the lowest amount of successful recalls as only 25 were removed.<ref>{{Cite news |date=January 10, 2021 |title=Recall elections hit a historic high in 2021 |work=[[CNN]] |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/10/politics/recall-elections-increase-governor-school-board/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113104129/https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/10/politics/recall-elections-increase-governor-school-board/index.html |archive-date=January 13, 2022}}</ref>