Joe Carollo recall, Miami, Florida (2020)
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An effort in Miami, Florida, to recall Miami Board of Commissioners District 3 Commissioner Joe Carollo did not qualify for the ballot. Supporters of the recall effort accused Carollo of abuse of power and violations of the Miami city charter.[1] Opponents stated that the recall effort was politically motivated and the petition's allegations were false.[2]
Under Florida law, petitioners are required to undertake two rounds of signature gathering. In the first round, petitioners must obtain signatures from 5% of the registered voters within the targeted official's district. The signatures must be collected and submitted to the city clerk within 30 days of the first signature being collected on the petition.[3] In this case, petitioners digitally submitted the first round of petitions on February 29, 2020, and physically submitted them on March 2. The clerk’s office rejected the petitions on the grounds that the deadline to physically submit the petitions was March 1, as Florida law does not provide for electronic submission.[4] Petitioners subsequently sued to compel the city clerk to turn over the signatures to the Miami-Dade elections department for verification.[5]
A Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge held that the law required the city clerk to turn over the petitions to the county elections department. The city appealed and on May 27, a three-judge panel of the Third District Court of Appeals affirmed the ruling, holding that state law does not grant a city clerk authority to determine a recall petition's legal sufficiency.[6]
Carollo filed suit in Miami-Dade Circuit Court in July 2020, requesting an injunction that would block the delivery of the petitions to the county elections department.[7] Judge Alan Fine ruled in September that the petitions were submitted past the deadline and the recall effort could not continue.[8]
Recall supporters
The recall effort was led by the political committee, Take Back Our City, headed by District 3 citizen Rob Piper.[2] Former Miami City Manager Joe Arriola, former Miami Mayor Manny Diaz, and former Miami-Dade County Commission Chair Bruno Barreiro also publicly backed the recall. The recall petition was based on allegations of malfeasance, abuse of power, and violations of state law by Carollo.[1]
Recall petition
Recall opponents
Carollo responded to the petition, stating its allegations were false and that the recall effort was headed by a group of political operatives who did not reside within District 3.[2] In statements to local media outlets, Carollo also said the petition was organized by a group "comprised of socialist radicals, as well as others that want to do business with the Cuban dictatorship and corrupt politicians that want to be relevant again."[9]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Florida
Florida law gives petitioners 30 days from the date the first signature is collected to gather signatures from at least 5% of the registered voters within the targeted official's district. In this case, that number was 1,577 signatures. Upon signature verification, the targeted official may write a 200-word response, which would be included in the petition circulated for a second round of signature gathering. In the second round, petitioners are required to collect signatures from 15% (4,730) of the district's registered voters. Once those signatures are verified, the city must schedule a recall election where all registered voters in the district can vote on recalling the official.[2]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Take Back Our City, "Petition for municipal recall of Joe Carollo City Commission of Miami, Florida," accessed March 6, 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedrecall - ↑ Florida Legislature, "Fla. Stat. Ann §100.361," accessed June 4, 2020
- ↑ Miami Herald, "City rejects petitions in Carollo recall campaign because they were late. Cue lawsuit." March 2, 2020
- ↑ Miami Herald, "They want to recall Joe Carollo. City said the petitions were late. Now they’re suing." March 3, 2020
- ↑ Miami Herald, "Carollo loses court appeal involving recall effort against him. Expect more lawsuits." May 27, 2020
- ↑ Miami Herald, "New legal battle over Joe Carollo recall effort: Commissioner sues to stop petition," July 9, 2020
- ↑ Miami Herald, "Judge says petitions in Carollo recall came in too late, dealing blow to campaign," September 18, 2020
- ↑ WPLG Local 10 News, "Recall effort of Miami City Commissioner Joe Carollo begins ‘in earnest,’ organizers say" February 11, 2020
