Laws governing recall in Minnesota
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The citizens of Minnesota are granted the authority to perform a recall election by the Section 6 of Article 8 of the Minnesota Constitution.
Signature requirement
To schedule a recall election, signatures equal in number to 25% of the total votes cast for the position at the last election must be collected and verified.[1]
Process
First, a proposed recall petition must be submitted to the Minnesota Secretary of State specifying the grounds upon which the official should be recalled. The grounds must be one of the following: malfeasance, nonfeasance, or serious crime. If the petition is for a statewide office, it must also include 25 signatures of Minnesota residents who are eligible to vote. A $100 fee must also be paid at the time the recall petition is filed. The Secretary of State checks the signatures and, if verified, sends them to the Minnesota Supreme Court.[2]
| Can you recall a federal official? | |
| The U.S. Constitution does not provide for recall of any elected federal official. Although some state constitutions have stated that their citizens have the right to recall members of the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Supreme Court has not ruled on whether this is constitutional at the federal level. Read Ballotpedia's explanation » | |
The court then has 10 days to decide if the proposed petition should be dismissed or if a public hearing should be held to determine if grounds for recall are sufficient. If it is determined a hearing should be held, the court will assign the case to a special master. The hearing will be held within 21 days of assigning the case to a special master, and the special master will report back to the court within seven days of the hearing. The court will then make a decision on the proposed petition within 20 days of receiving the report from the special master. If the court rules that the grounds for recall are sufficient, the court will order the Secretary of State to issue a recall petition.[3]
Once the recall petition is issued, petitioners have 90 days to gather signatures equal to 25% of the number of votes cast for the affected office in the previous election. Once the signatures have been gathered, the petitions must be submitted to the Secretary of State for verification. If the signatures meet the verification requirements, the petition will be sent to the governor and a recall election date will be set.[1][4]
The election will be a Yes/No ballot in which voters will select Yes if they are in favor of removing the official from office or No if they are against it.[5] If a majority of voters vote Yes, the office will be declared vacant.[6]
Grounds
- See also: States that require grounds for recalls
Minnesota has specific grounds that must be met for a recall petition to be circulated. These are:[2]
- Malfeasance, which means that an official acted unlawfully in their duties as an elected official
- Nonfeasance, which means an official failed to perform his duties
- Serious crime, which means that an official committed a gross misdemeanor or felony
The court will reject the petition if it cannot be proven that the official has committed one of these acts.[2]
Contact info
Minnesota Secretary of State Elections Division
Veterans Service Building, Suite 210
20 W 12th Street
Saint Paul, MN 55155
651-215-1440
1-877-600-8683
Email: secretary.state@state.mn.us
See also
- Laws governing recall
- States that have pre-petition signature requirements for recalls
- States that require grounds for recalls
External links
- National Conference of State Legislatures, Statewide Recall
- Minnesota Secretary of State Recall Process page
- Another Minnesota SOS Recall page
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Minnesota Constitution, "Article VIII," accessed February 4, 2025
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Minnesota Statutes, "Section 211C.04," accessed February 17, 2023
- ↑ Minnesota Statutes, "Section 211C.05," accessed February 4, 2025
- ↑ Minnesota Statutes, "Section 211C.06," accessed February 4, 2025
- ↑ Minnesota Statutes, "Section 211C.071," accessed February 4, 2025
- ↑ Minnesota Statutes, "Section 211C.08," accessed February 4, 2025
