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Jennifer Conlin recall, Michigan House of Representatives (2023)
| Rep. Jennifer Conlin recall |
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| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2023 Recalls in Michigan Michigan recall laws State legislative recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Jennifer Conlin, a member of the Democratic Party, from her elected position representing District 48 in the Michigan House of Representatives was launched on August 1, 2023. The Michigan Board of State Canvassers met on August 21, 2023, to hold a clarity and factual hearing on the recall's petition language. The board rejected the recall petition for circulation on a 2-1 vote.
On August 1, 2023, the Michigan Board of State Canvassers met to discuss a recall petition against Conlin that was filed on July 12, 2023. The board rejected the recall petition for circulation on a 2-2 vote.[1]
Proponents of the recall efforts criticized Conlin over her vote in favor of House Bill 4474.[2][3]
Conlin was elected to the state House in 2022. She defeated Jason Woolford (R) in the general election with 53.1% of the vote.
Recall supporters
First recall petition
On July 12, 2023, Linda Ensley filed the recall petition against Conlin due to her vote in favor of House Bill 4474.[4] According to Michigan Advance, the legislation would "expand the definition of hate crimes to include violence on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, age and disability." [4] The Michigan Board of State Canvassers met on August 1, 2023, to hold a clarity and factual hearing on the recall's petition language. The board rejected the recall petition for circulation on a 2-2 vote.[5]
Second recall petition
Linda Ensley refiled the recall petition against Conlin on August 1, 2023. Ensley's first recall petition was previously rejected due to a lack of clarity. The first petition listed the bill number but did not describe the legislation. The second petition's reason for recall still mentioned Conlin's vote in favor of House Bill 4474 but also described the legislation.[6] The Michigan Board of State Canvassers met on August 21, 2023, to hold a clarity and factual hearing on the recall's petition language. The board rejected the recall petition for circulation on a 2-1 vote.
Recall opponents
After the first recall was announced, Conlin posted on Facebook the following response:[7]
| “ |
In this last legislative session, I voted along with my Democratic colleagues and some Republican legislators to expand Michigan's Hate Crimes Bill to include protections for the LBGTQ+, elderly and disabled communities. It is a bill I am proud to have supported, but one that a far-right group is now using as a reason to petition a recall of me and four of my first-year colleagues. Despite this outrageous act, I plan to continue to fight to better the lives of all Michiganders. We have made historic progress in Lansing by supporting workers' rights, reproductive rights, common-sense gun legislation and tax cuts for retirees and working families. We have so much more work to do and bad-faith tactics like this will not dissuade us from our mission of public service.[8] |
” |
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Michigan
Election history
2022
See also: Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for Michigan House of Representatives District 48
Jennifer Conlin defeated Jason Woolford and Eric Borregard in the general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 48 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Jennifer Conlin (D) | 53.1 | 27,376 |
 | Jason Woolford (R) | 45.8 | 23,622 | |
 | Eric Borregard (G) | 1.1 | 579 | |
| Total votes: 51,577 | |||
 = 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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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 48
Jennifer Conlin advanced from the Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 48 on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jennifer Conlin | 100.0 | 11,854 |
| Total votes: 11,854 | |||
| = 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
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 48
Jason Woolford defeated Jason Negri in the Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 48 on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jason Woolford | 53.4 | 6,541 |
| Jason Negri | 46.6 | 5,697 | ||
| Total votes: 12,238 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Green convention
Green convention for Michigan House of Representatives District 48
Eric Borregard advanced from the Green convention for Michigan House of Representatives District 48 on April 23, 2022.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | Eric Borregard (G) |
| ||||
| = 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. | ||||
Historical state legislative recalls
Ballotpedia tracked 157 recall efforts against 148 state lawmakers from 1913 to 2022. During that time, 39 recalls made the ballot and 22 state legislators were successfully recalled.[9]
Michigan led the way with 37 state legislative recall efforts from 1913 to 2022. Of those 37 recall efforts, three were successful. Wisconsin followed with 30 state legislative recall efforts. Six of those recalls were successful.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Detroit Free Press, "Michigan elections panel rejects 7 recall petitions targeting lawmakers; approves just 1," August 1, 2023
- ↑ MLive, "5 Democrats, 1 Republican in House face recalls for red flag, hate crime votes," July 17, 2023
- ↑ The Detroit News, "5 House Democrats, 1 Republican targeted by recall attempts," July 17, 2023
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Michigan Advance, "Recall petitions filed against 5 Democratic, 1 Republican House members," July 17, 2023
- ↑ Detroit Free Press, "Michigan elections panel rejects 7 recall petitions targeting lawmakers; approves just 1," August 1, 2023
- ↑ Michigan Advance, "Four previously rejected recall petitions for Michigan lawmakers refiled," August 9, 2023
- ↑ Facebook, "Jennifer Conlin on July 18, 2023," accessed July 20, 2023
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Recall of State Officials," accessed August 13, 2021
