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D. Charles Bailey recall, 20th District Circuit Court, Oregon (2025)
| D. Charles Bailey recall |
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| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2025 Recalls in Oregon Oregon recall laws Special district recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall 20th District Circuit Court Judge D. Charles Bailey is underway in Oregon. The prospective petition was filed by Carolyn McBee on August 25, 2025. The prospective petition was approved for circulation on September 3, 2025. Recall organizers must collect 38,383 signatures by November 24, 2025, to get the recall on the ballot.[1]
Recall supporters
The petition targeting Bailey listed the following reasons for recall:[2]
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Judge D. Charles Bailey repeatedly abuses his judicial discretion in Washington County family court. He endangers children, denying due process to protective parents. He has a documented pattern granting emergency custody to abusive parents based on unsubstantiated allegations, often through ex parte rulings made in chambers without notice to the other parent or a hearing on record. Bailey disregards expert forensic evidence, ignores findings of domestic violence and sexual abuse, and refuses to consider safety-based recommendations from licensed child abuse evaluators, including CARESNW. He uses coercion in chambers, off the record, to force agreements under threat of eliminating a parent's access to their children. His rulings silence children, dismiss credible reports of abuse, and establish "status quo" custody based on unsupported orders of "immediate danger." Judge Bailey's violations of due process put our children in danger and his bias against protective parents, especially women, erodes public trust in the judiciary. His conduct inflicts harm on children and causes irreparable trauma to the community he swore to serve. Oregonians deserve judges who uphold the law and protect the vulnerable. For the safety of children and families, the integrity of our courts, Judge Bailey must be removed from the bench. [3] |
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Recall opponents
As of September 2025, Ballotpedia had not identified a response from Bailey.
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Oregon
No specific grounds are required for recall in Oregon. To get the recall on the ballot, supporters must collect signatures equal to 15% of the votes cast in the last regular gubernatorial election in the relevant jurisdiction. Signatures must be collected within 90 days.[4]
Recall context
- See also: Ballotpedia's Recall Report
Ballotpedia covers recall efforts across the country for all state and local elected offices. A recall effort is considered official if the petitioning party has filed an official form, such as a notice of intent to recall, with the relevant election agency.
The chart below shows how many officials were included in recall efforts from 2012 to 2024 as well as how many of them defeated recall elections to stay in office and how many were removed from office in recall elections.
See also
- Ballotpedia's Recall Report
- Recall campaigns in Oregon
- Political recall efforts, 2025
- Special district recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Oregon Secretary of State, "Petition R-2025-04 against Circuit Court Judge D. Charles Bailey Jr.," accessed September 22, 2025
- ↑ Oregon Secretary of State, "Prospective Petition - Recall (SEL 350)," accessed September 10, 2025
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Oregon Secretary of State, "Recall Manual," accessed October 17, 2023
