Evan Mecham recall, Governor of Arizona (1987-1988)

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Evan Mecham recall
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Officeholders
Evan Mecham
Recall status
Did not go to a vote
Recall election date
May 17, 1988 (canceled)
Signature requirement
216,746 signatures
See also
Recall overview
Political recall efforts, 1988
Recalls in Arizona
Arizona recall laws
Gubernatorial recalls
Recall reports

An election to recall Arizona Governor Evan Mecham (R) was scheduled for May 17, 1988. Mecham was impeached by the Arizona House of Representatives on February 5, 1988, and convicted by the Arizona State Senate on April 4, 1988. The election was canceled after the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that the order of succession after the impeachment and conviction of a governor took precedence over a recall.[1]

Recall supporters

The Mecham Recall Committee, founded by businessman Ed Buck, organized the recall effort. The recall petition read, "In his first 180 days as governor of the state of Arizona, Evan Mecham has demonstrated his lack of knowledge, vision, and unifying leadership necessary to govern the citizens of this state. He has embarrassed Arizonians nationally through his insensitive statements about women and minorities as well as his appointment of individuals who are not qualified to appropriately respond to the state's severe environmental problems."[1]

Recall opponents

Regarding the recall effort, Mecham said, "I don't for a minute think that the people of this state are going to turn out a record of accomplishment for a bunch of vague promises of people who have no record of accomplishment in the field they're talking about."[1]

Path to the ballot

Recall organizers collected 388,988 signatures, 301,032 of which were deemed valid. They needed 216,746 valid signatures to trigger a recall election.[1]

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Zimmerman, J. (2013). The Recall: Tribunal of the People. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. (pages 65-67)