Doug Ducey recall, Governor of Arizona (2020)
| Arizona Governor recall |
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| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2020 Recalls in Arizona Arizona recall laws State executive recalls Recall reports |
Two efforts to recall Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) were launched in 2020. The first recall effort ended on August 29, 2020.[1] No signatures were submitted by the deadline.[2] Organizers for the second recall effort announced on December 29, 2020, that they were no longer gathering signatures.[3]
Recall supporters criticized Ducey over his state reopening plan amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Ducey was elected as Arizona's governor in 2014 with 53.4% of the vote. He was re-elected in 2018 with 56.0% of the vote.
To read about other recall efforts related to the coronavirus and government responses to the pandemic, click here.
Recall supporters
First recall effort (ended)
The first recall effort was organized by a group called Arizonans for Liberty. The recall petition was filed with the Arizona Secretary of State’s office on May 1, 2020, by Marko Trickovic, Steve Daniels, and 2020 congressional candidate Josh Barnett (R).[1][4] According to the AZ Mirror, Trickovic, Daniels, and Barnett have also supported the re-open protests at Arizona’s State Capitol.[4] Protesters criticized Ducey's decision to keep the state under a stay-at-home order.[5] The petition listed the following reasons for recall:
| “ |
We the people of the state of Arizona submit this petition to recall Governor Doug Ducey. Governor Ducey has committed a violation of his oath of office A.R.S. 38-231 by issuing an unconstitutional executive order, by unequally enforcing the law on Arizona citizens and businesses, and by failure to address citizens grievances. It is the duty of the citizens of the state of Arizona to hold our elected officials accountable and to protect our God given rights. By signing this petition we publicly withdraw our support for Governor Ducey and demand that he be recalled from office.[6] |
” |
| —Doug Ducey Recall Petition Language[4] | ||
Trickovic, chairman of the recall group, called Ducey a tyrant over the extension of the stay-at-home order. Trickovic said about Ducey’s order that, “He literally declared war on the citizens of Arizona. The fact that he came out and said he would jail people for trying to earn a living and feed people, that’s a tyrant.” Ducey said that businesses that ignore his executive order and open early will face a $2,500 fine and up to six months in jail.[1]
For the recall against Ducey to be placed on the ballot, supporters of the recall needed to gather 594,111 signatures within 120 days of the recall petition being submitted. Recall supporters had until August 29, 2020, to turn in signatures for the recall to go forward.[1] According to the secretary of state's office, no signatures were submitted by the deadline.
Second recall effort (ended)
The second recall effort was organized by a group called Accountable Arizona. The recall petition was filed with the Arizona Secretary of State’s office on September 18, 2020, by Adam Halleck. The petition listed the following reasons for recall:
| “ |
We seek to recall Doug Ducey due to violations of his oath office A.R.S. 38-231. Governor Ducey's unwillingness to act during the COVID-19 pandemic have negatively impacted the state of Arizona. Governor Ducey's indecision and inability to implement science-backed public safety measures has directly resulted in the illnesses and deaths of thousands of Arizonans. Governor Ducey's decisions have significantly hurt our business community and state economy during the COVID-19 pandemic because his executive orders do not protect businesses and patrons. We seek to ensure the health and prosperity of all Arizonans with strong, decisive leadership that puts Arizonans first.[6] |
” |
| —Doug Ducey Recall Petition Language[7] | ||
Endorsements
- Congressman Paul Gosar (R)[8]
Recall opponents
| KGUN 9 - Governor Ducey extends stay-at-home order with modifications Released April 29, 2020 |
During the press conference to extend the state's stay-at-home order on April 29, 2020, Ducey said the following about why the order was extended: "We’re going to continue to act with both our heads and our hearts on this. We’re putting public safety and public health first. We realize that every decision made affects the citizens of Arizona. And we want you to understand why we’re making decisions and in what order. Because we’re asking a lot of the people of Arizona."[9]
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, Tucson Mayor Regina Romero (D), and Flagstaff Mayor Coral Evans said the following in a joint statement on the extension order: "We’ve seen other communities who have reopened too soon and paid the price in both public health and with a second economic shutdown. We do not want that to happen in Arizona. We are all eager to reopen the economy as soon as it is safe to do so."[9]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Arizona
A recall can be filed against any public officer on any grounds. The recall may not be filed until after the elected official has been in office in his or her first term for at least six months. This six-month limit does not apply to state legislators. In the case of state legislators, a recall petition may commence five days after the start of their first legislative session after their election. In the case of other elected officials, there is no six-month limit for subsequent terms in office.[10]
A recall petition must be filed at the office in which the officer being recalled files for nomination. The petition must contain a general statement explaining the recall, and it may not exceed 200 words. This petition must be signed by the sponsors who swear an oath that all signatures collected will be valid signatures.
Signatures
The number of signatures required to qualify a recall attempt for the ballot is 25 percent of the number of votes cast in the last election for that office.
Ballotpedia covered 35 coronavirus-related recall efforts against 94 officials in 2022, accounting for 13% of recalls that year. This is a decrease from both 2020 and 2021. COVID-related recalls accounted for 37% of all recall efforts in both 2020 and 2021. In 2020, there were 87 COVID-related recalls against 89 officials, and in 2021, there were 131 against 214 officials.
The chart below compares coronavirus-related recalls to recalls for all other reasons in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
Election history
2018
- See also: Arizona gubernatorial election, 2018
General election
General election for Governor of Arizona
Incumbent Doug Ducey defeated David Garcia and Angel Torres in the general election for Governor of Arizona on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Doug Ducey (R) | 56.0 | 1,330,863 |
 | David Garcia (D) | 41.8 | 994,341 | |
 | Angel Torres (G) | 2.1 | 50,962 | |
| Total votes: 2,376,166 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Noah Dyer (Independent)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Governor of Arizona
David Garcia defeated Steve Farley and Kelly Fryer in the Democratic primary for Governor of Arizona on August 28, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | David Garcia | 50.6 | 255,555 |
 | Steve Farley | 32.3 | 163,072 | |
 | Kelly Fryer | 17.2 | 86,810 | |
| Total votes: 505,437 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Governor of Arizona
Incumbent Doug Ducey defeated Ken Bennett in the Republican primary for Governor of Arizona on August 28, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Doug Ducey | 70.7 | 463,672 |
 | Ken Bennett | 29.3 | 191,775 | |
| Total votes: 655,447 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Libertarian primary election
No Libertarian candidates ran in the primary.
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Barry J. Hess (L)
- Merissa Hamilton (L)
- Jeff Funicello (L)
- Kevin McCormick (L)
2014
- See also Arizona Gubernatorial election, 2014
| Governor of Arizona, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican |  Doug Ducey |
53.4% | 805,062 | |
| Democratic | Fred DuVal | 41.6% | 626,921 | |
| Libertarian | Barry J. Hess | 3.8% | 57,337 | |
| Americans Elect | J.L. Mealer | 1% | 15,432 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-ins | 0.1% | 1,664 | |
| Total Votes | 1,506,416 | |||
| Election results via Arizona Secretary of State | ||||
| Governor of Arizona Republican Primary, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
| Doug Ducey |
37.2% | 200,607 | ||
| Scott Smith | 22.1% | 119,107 | ||
| Christine Jones | 16.7% | 89,922 | ||
| Ken Bennett | 11.5% | 62,010 | ||
| Andrew Thomas | 8.1% | 43,822 | ||
| Frank Riggs | 4.5% | 24,168 | ||
| Mike Aloisi (Write-in) | 0% | 27 | ||
| Alice Lukasik (Write-in) | 0% | 27 | ||
| Total Votes | 539,690 | |||
| Election results via Arizona Secretary of State. | ||||
Historical governor recalls
From 2003 to 2019, Ballotpedia tracked 58 gubernatorial recall efforts against 16 different governors. During that time, two recalls made the ballot and one governor was successfully recalled. Former California Gov. Gray Davis (D) was recalled by voters in 2003. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) was chosen as Davis' replacement. The only other governor to ever be successfully recalled was former North Dakota Gov. Lynn Frazier (R) in 1921. In 2012, Wisconsin voted to retain former Gov. Scott Walker (R) in the recall election. He received 53.1% of the vote.
See also
- Recall campaigns in Arizona
- Political recall efforts, 2020
- Gubernatorial recalls
- Mike Dunleavy recall, Governor of Alaska (2020)
- Gretchen Whitmer recall, Governor of Michigan (2020)
- Steve Sisolak recall, Governor of Nevada (2020)
- Government responses to and political effects of the coronavirus pandemic, 2020 (Arizona)
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Tucson.com, "Arizona coronavavirus protest organizer seeks recall of Gov. Ducey," May 2, 2020
- ↑ Ballotpedia spoke to the elections division of Arizona's Secretary of State on August 31. The office said no signatures were submitted by the deadline.
- ↑ Twitter, "AccountableInAZ," accessed December 30, 2020
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 AZ Mirror, "Anti-shutdown activists launch recall effort against Ducey," May 1, 2020
- ↑ AZ Central, "Backlash over Ducey's stay-at-home order leads to recall effort," May 1, 2020
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Accountable Arizona, "Petition," accessed September 22, 2020
- ↑ KJZZ, "Effort To Recall Arizona Gov. Ducey Gains Unlikely Support From Paul Gosar," December 7, 2020
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Arizona Capitol Times, "Ducey extends ‘modified’ stay-at-home order until May 15," April 29, 2020
- ↑ Arizona Daily Star, "Dupnik recall effort gets another non-Pima boost - this time from Idaho," February 6, 2011
