Laws governing recall in Arizona
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A recall election is the process by which citizens may remove elected officials from office before the expiration of their terms. This article summarizes the laws governing recall elections in Arizona. Arizona allows for the recall of some local officials but does not allow for the recall of state officials.
In 39 states, local officials can be subject to recall elections. Of those, 19 also permit recalls of state-level officials. Eleven states do not permit recalls of elected officials at any level. Click here for more information.
Offices subject to recall
Federal officials
The U.S. Constitution does not provide for the recall of elected federal officials. While some state constitutions have stated that their citizens have the right to recall members of Congress, the Supreme Court has never ruled on whether such recalls are constitutional.[1] Ballotpedia does not provide coverage of federal recalls. Click here for more information.
State and local officials
The laws governing recall in Arizona are defined in Article 8 of the Arizona Constitution.
The authority to conduct a recall election in Arizona applies to "Every public officer in the state of Arizona, holding an elective office, either by election or appointment."[2]
Process
Prerequisites
A recall can be filed against any public officer on any grounds. The recall may not be filed until after the elected official has been in office in his or her first term for at least six months. This six-month limit does not apply to state legislators. In the case of state legislators, a recall petition may commence five days after the start of their first legislative session after their election. In the case of other elected officials, there is no six-month limit for subsequent terms in office.[3]
Petition
A recall petition must be filed at the office in which the officer being recalled files for nomination. The petition must contain a general statement explaining the recall, not exceeding 200 words. This petition must be signed by the sponsors who swear an oath that all signatures collected will be valid signatures.
Signature requirements
- See also: Arizona signature requirements
The number of signatures required to qualify for a recall attempt for the ballot is 25% of the number of votes cast in the last election for that office. Recall supporters have 120 days to collect signatures.
Election
If enough signatures are gathered, a recall election will be held. All qualified candidates can run against the incumbent. Whoever gets the most votes wins the office. If the incumbent wins he/she remains in office and no other recall can occur during that term unless the proponents pay the cost of the prior recall election.
Legislation involving recall elections
The table below lists bills related to recall elections in Arizona. The following information is included for each bill:
- State
- Bill number
- Official bill name or caption
- Most recent action date
- Legislative status
- Sponsor party
- Topics dealt with by the bill
Bills are organized by most recent action. The table displays up to 100 results. To view more bills, use the arrows in the upper-right corner. Clicking on a bill will open its page on Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker, which includes bill details and a summary.
See also
What are recalls?
Recall efforts
Ballotpedia's Recall Report
Recalls by state
Recalls by office
Recall laws
Footnotes
- ↑ Congressional Research Service, "Recall of Legislators and the Removal of Members of Congress from Office," January 5, 2012
- ↑ Arizona State Legislature, "Arizona Constitution," accessed March 26, 2014
- ↑ Arizona Daily Star, "Dupnik recall effort gets another non-Pima boost - this time from Idaho," February 6, 2011
