Kelly Breen recall, Michigan House of Representatives (2023-2024)
| Rep. Kelly Breen recall |
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| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2024 Recalls in Michigan Michigan recall laws State legislative recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Kelly Breen, a member of the Democratic Party, from her elected position representing District 21 in the Michigan House of Representatives was launched on October 23, 2023. The Michigan Board of State Canvassers met on November 6, 2023, to hold a clarity and factual hearing on the recall's petition language. The board approved the petition for circulation on a 3-0 vote. The approved recall petition was appealed to the state Court of Appeals on November 12. The court dismissed the appeal on December 27, 2023.[1] The recall petition was valid for 180 days from the date of the appeal—or no later than June 19, 2024. To initiate a recall election, supporters of the recall effort must submit signatures of at least 25% of the votes cast in the state House district in the last governor’s race within a 60-day period. The required signatures were not submitted to recall Breen.
Proponents of the recall effort criticized Breen over her vote in favor of House Bill 4145.
Breen was elected to the state House in 2020. She previously represented House District 38 from 2021 to 2023. She was redistricted into House District 21 in the 2022 election and was re-elected with 56.4% of the vote.
Recall supporters
First recall petition
Kayla Toma filed the recall petition against Breen due to her vote in favor of House Bill 4474.[2] 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."[2] On August 21, 2023, the Board of State Canvassers rejected the recall petition for circulation on a 2-1 vote.
Second recall petition
Daniel Lawless filed the recall petition against Breen due to her vote in favor of House Bill 4145. The official language of the recall petition said, "On April 13, 2023, State Representative Kelly Breen voted yes on Michigan House Bill 4145 creating the extreme risk protection order act i.e. Red Flag Law."[3]
House Bill 4145 only passed the House, but its Senate equivalent was signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) in May 2023.[4] The bill established a extreme risk protection order law, which allows family members, household members, and law enforcement officers to petition a court to restrict an individual's access to firearms. If the court finds that the person presents a danger to him- or herself or others, the person must surrender his or her firearms to law enforcement officials and is prohibited from buying, selling, or possessing firearms for a certain amount of time.[5][6]
On November 6, 2023, the Board of State Canvassers approved the recall petition for circulation on a 3-0 vote.[3]
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 21
Incumbent Kelly Breen defeated David Staudt and James Young in the general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 21 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Kelly Breen (D) | 56.4 | 22,670 |
 | David Staudt (R)  | 42.3 | 16,981 | |
 | James Young (L) | 1.3 | 521 | |
| Total votes: 40,172 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 21
Incumbent Kelly Breen advanced from the Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 21 on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Kelly Breen | 100.0 | 8,258 |
| Total votes: 8,258 | |||
| = 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 Michigan House of Representatives District 21
David Staudt defeated Daniel Lawless in the Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 21 on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | David Staudt | 54.3 | 4,338 |
 | Daniel Lawless | 45.7 | 3,646 | |
| Total votes: 7,984 | |||
| = 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 convention
Libertarian convention for Michigan House of Representatives District 21
James Young advanced from the Libertarian convention for Michigan House of Representatives District 21 on July 10, 2022.
Candidate | ||
| ✔ | | James Young (L) |
| ||||
| = 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.[7]
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.
Recall context
- See also: Ballotpedia's Recall Report
Ballotpedia covers recall efforts across the country for all state and local elected offices. A recall effort is considered official if the petitioning party has filed an official form, such as a notice of intent to recall, with the relevant election agency.
The chart below shows how many officials were included in recall efforts from 2012 to 2024 as well as how many of them defeated recall elections to stay in office and how many were removed from office in recall elections.
See also
- Recall campaigns in Michigan
- Political recall efforts, 2023
- Political recall efforts, 2024
- State legislative recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Michigan Courts, "COA 368585," accessed February 2, 2024
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Michigan Advance, "Recall petitions filed against 5 Democratic, 1 Republican House members," July 17, 2023
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 YouTube, "Board of State Canvassers, 11.6.23 with ASL," accessed November 6, 2023
- ↑ MLive, "5 Democrats, 1 Republican in House face recalls for red flag, hate crime votes," July 17, 2023
- ↑ Giffords Law Center, "Extreme Risk Protection Orders," accessed June 14, 2018
- ↑ The Trace, "Red Flag Laws: Where the Bills Stand in Each State," March 29, 2018
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Recall of State Officials," accessed August 13, 2021
