Laws governing recall in Montana
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The citizens of Montana are granted the authority to perform a recall election by the Montana Recall Act. All state officials in Montana are subject to recall.
Signature requirements
- Main article: Montana signature requirements
Montana has the lowest percentage of signatures required for recalling elected officials in the country. It is only ten percent of voters who voted in the last general election for a statewide official and 15 percent of voters for a district official.
Process
The process to recall an official in Montana begins with filing a petition with the Secretary of State or the county election administrator and stating the reason for the official being recalled. The only reasons that an official in Montana may be recalled for are physical or mental lack of fitness, incompetence, violation of the oath of office, official misconduct, or conviction of a felony offense. Once the signatures have been gathered they are sent to the secretary of state or the county election administrator for approval. The task of actually approving the signatures is done by the county clerk of each county. Each county clerk has 30 days to approve of disapprove of the signatures.
Conduct of election
After the petition signatures have been verified a recall election date is. The election is done on a yes/no ballot. The ballot simply states yes the official should be recalled and no the official should not be recalled. If the majority of voters vote to recall the official the office is considered vacant and a new election must be held to fill the vacancy. If vacancy occurs within 85 days of the general election in the second year of the term (terms are for four years), the county board of commissioners appoints a successor to serve until the election.
Contact info
Montana Secretary of State
P.O. Box 202801
Helena, MT 59620-2801
(406) 444-2034
sos@mt.gov
