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Jay Inslee recall, Governor of Washington (2018-2019)

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Washington Governor recall
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Officeholders
Jay Inslee
Recall status
Did not go to a vote
See also
Recall overview
Political recall efforts, 2019
Recalls in Washington
Washington recall laws
State executive recalls
Recall reports

An effort to recall Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) was launched on December 13, 2018. The grounds for recall had to first be approved by the Washington Superior Court before it could proceed. On October 31, 2019, the Washington Supreme Court upheld the Thurston County Superior Court's decision that the recall effort did not provide factually or legally sufficient grounds for recall.[1]

Recall supporters criticized Inslee for his absence from Washington during his presidential campaign, his neglect to declare homelessness as a statewide emergency, and his lack of involvement in campaigning for a ballot initiative.[2]

Inslee was elected as Washington's governor in 2012 with 51.4% of the vote. He was re-elected in 2016 with 54% of the vote.

Recall supporters

The recall effort was initiated by Arthur West on December 13, 2018. The recall petition listed the following reasons for recall:[1]

“

The charge that Jay Inslee, as Governor of Washington, committed misfeasance, malfeasance, and/or violated his oath of office alleges:

1. That Governor Inslee abdicated his duties as Governor of the State of Washington and created a vacancy in that office by taking 32 trips outside of Washington as of August 2018 and by frequently being absent from the State after that date;

2. That Governor Inslee maintains a residence on Bainbridge Island and maintains books, papers, and public records of the Office of Governor in Washington D.C. in violation of article III, section 24 of the Washington Constitution;

3. That Governor Inslee failed to ensure environmental, nuisance, and criminal laws have been faithfully executed throughout the State, including by the City of Olympia, and allowed the City of Olympia to usurp the emergency powers of the Governor;

4. That Governor Inslee failed to use his executive powers to address homelessness and failed to ensure the integrity and continuity of government faced with a public health and safety emergency;

5. That Governor Inslee improperly used state resources and the authority of his office to campaign for an environmental initiative.

Should Jay Inslee be recalled from office based on these charges?[3]

”

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing recall in Washington

Grounds for recall

Article I, §33 of the Washington Constitution states that a recall can only occur if the targeted public official has "committed some act or acts of malfeasance or misfeasance while in office, or who has violated his oath of office."[4]

Signature requirement

A petition for recall must include a specified number of valid signatures from registered voters determined as a percentage of total votes cast for all candidates who ran for the office in the most recent election contest. This amounts to:[5]

“

(1) In the case of a state officer, an officer of a city of the first class, a member of a school board in a city of the first class, or a county officer of a county with a population of forty thousand or more—signatures of legal voters equal to twenty-five percent of the total number of votes cast for all candidates for the office to which the officer whose recall is demanded was elected at the preceding election.
(2) In the case of an officer of any political subdivision, city, town, township, precinct, or school district other than those mentioned in subsection (1) of this section, and in the case of a state senator or representative—signatures of legal voters equal to thirty-five percent of the total number of votes cast for all candidates for the office to which the officer whose recall is demanded was elected at the preceding election.[3]

”

Supporters trying to recall a statewide elected official must turn in signatures within 270 days. The recall campaigns for non-statewide officials have 180 days to turn in signatures.[6]

Election history

2016

See also: Washington gubernatorial election, 2016

Inslee ran for re-election as governor of Washington. He competed with three other Democrats, three Republicans, and four minor political party candidates in the August 2 top-two primary election. Inslee placed first in the primary election and faced Seattle Port Commissioner Bill Bryant (R), who placed second, in the November 8 general election.

Results

General election

Incumbent Jay Inslee defeated Bill Bryant in the Washington governor election.

Washington Governor, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Jay Inslee Incumbent 54.24% 1,760,520
     Republican Bill Bryant 45.49% 1,476,346
Write-in votes 0.26% 8,416
Total Votes 3,245,282
Source: Washington Secretary of State
Primary election

The following candidates ran in the Washington primary for governor.

Washington primary for governor, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.png Jay Inslee Incumbent 49.30% 687,412
     Republican Green check mark transparent.png Bill Bryant 38.33% 534,519
     Republican Bill Hirt 3.47% 48,382
     Democratic Patrick O'Rourke 2.91% 40,572
     Independent Steve Rubenstein 1.62% 22,582
     Democratic James Robert Deal 1.05% 14,623
     Democratic Johnathan Dodds 1.01% 14,152
     Republican Goodspaceguy 0.95% 13,191
     Socialist Workers Party Mary Martin 0.74% 10,374
     Fifth Republic Party David Blomstrom 0.32% 4,512
     Holistic Party Christian Joubert 0.29% 4,103
Total Votes 1,394,422
Source: Washington Secretary of State

2012

See also: Washington gubernatorial election, 2012

Inslee was elected Governor of Washington in the 2012 election. He finished first in the August 7th blanket primary and defeated Republican attorney general Rob McKenna in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[7][8]

Governor of Washington General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngJay Inslee 51.4% 1,582,802
     Republican Rob McKenna 48.3% 1,488,245
     Other Write-in votes 0.3% 8,592
Total Votes 3,079,639
Election results via Washington Secretary of State
Primary
Governor of Washington, Primary, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngJay Inslee 47.1% 664,534
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngRob McKenna 42.9% 604,872
     Republican Shahram Hadian 3.3% 46,169
     Democratic Rob Hill 3.2% 45,453
     Independent James White 1% 13,764
     No Party Preference Christian Joubert 0.7% 10,457
     Independent L. Dale Sorgen 0.7% 9,734
     Republican Max Sampson 0.6% 8,753
     Republican Javier O. Lopez 0.4% 6,131
Total Votes 1,409,867
Election results via Washington Secretary of State

Historical gubernatorial recalls

From 2003 to 2018, Ballotpedia tracked 54 gubernatorial recall efforts against 14 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

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Washington Courts, "In the Matter of the Recall of JAY INSLEE, Governor of the State of Washington," October 31, 2019
  2. ↑ The Spokesman-Review, "Inslee can’t be recalled for travel, response to homelessness, court says," November 1, 2019
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  4. ↑ Washington State Legislature, "Constitution of the State of Washington," accessed May 27, 2021
  5. ↑ Washington State Legislature, "Revised Code of Washington: 29A.56.180," accessed May 27, 2021
  6. ↑ Washington State Legislature, "Revised Code of Washington: 29A.56.150," accessed May 27, 2021
  7. ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "August 7, 2012 Primary Results: State executives," accessed August 8, 2012
  8. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named mconcedes
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