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Laws governing recall in Kansas
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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 Kansas. Kansas allows for the recall of all elected state and local officials, with the exception of judicial officers.
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 officials
Under Kansas Statute 25-4301, all elected state officials—except judges—can be subject to recall.[2] The following state officials may be subject to recall: Governor, Lieutenant Governor, State Senator, State Representative, State Board of Education member, Secretary of State, Attorney General, State Treasurer, and Insurance Commissioner.
Local officials
Local officers are defined as any other elected officials (excluding those not subject to recall). Procedures and requirements for recalling these officers are handled separately by each local jurisdiction.
Process
Prerequisites
Reasons for recall
Under Kansas Statute 25-4302, the grounds for recalling state officers are defined as "conviction of a felony, misconduct in office or failure to perform duties prescribed by law." Once a recall election has been held, it cannot be invalidated due to the insufficiency of the grounds, application, or petition that initiated it.[3]
Notice of intention
An application to recall an officer cannot be filed within the first 120 days or the last 200 days of the official's term.[4]
State officials
To initiate a recall effort, supporters are required to submit an application with the following information:
- Name and office of the officer being recalled
- A statement of the grounds for recall, limited to 200 words
- A declaration that the sponsor is a Kansas resident and an eligible voter
- The designation of a recall committee consisting of three sponsors
- A list of 100 sponsors authorized to circulate the petition
- Signatures from registered voters totaling 10% of the votes cast for all candidates for the office of the official subject to recall
- A $100 filing fee[5]
The application must be submitted to the Secretary of State’s office, except when the recall targets that office, in which case it is submitted to the Lieutenant Governor’s office.[4]
Local officials
Similar to recalling a state official, sponsors of a local official recall must submit an application. This application must be filed with the county election officer in the county where all or most of the local officer’s constituency resides. If the recall targets the county election officer, the application must instead be submitted to the county attorney.[6]
The application must include:[7]
- Name and office of the local officer being recalled
- Grounds for recall (max 200 words)
- Statement that petition sponsors are registered voters in the officer’s district
- Names and addresses of three registered voters in the district forming the recall committee
- Statement of warning
- List of sponsors (Kansas residents and qualified voters) authorized to circulate the petition
Petition
Signature requirements
State officials: The number of valid signatures required for a recall election is 40% of the number of persons that voted in the last preceding general election for the office of the targeted incumbent.[8]
Local officials: To qualify for the ballot, a local recall requires valid signatures from 40% of voters in the last general election for that office. If multiple candidates were elected to the office (e.g., school board), the required signatures must equal at least 40% of the total votes cast for all candidates, divided by the number of positions filled.[9]
Circulation timeline
The recall petition may be circulated for up to 90 days.[10][11]
Election
A recall election is held no sooner than 60 days and no later than 90 days after signatures are certified by the applicable election officer.[5]
Legislation involving recall elections
The table below lists bills related to recall elections in Kansas. 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
External links
- Kansas Statutes,"Chapter 25, Article 43: Recall Of Elected Officials"
- Kansas Secretary of State,"Election Standards, Chapter II. Election Administration"
- NCSL, "Recall of state officials"
Footnotes
- ↑ Congressional Research Service, "Recall of Legislators and the Removal of Members of Congress from Office," January 5, 2012
- ↑ Kansas Statutes, "Statute 25-4301. Recall of elected officials: Officers subject to recall; exceptions.," accessed February 9, 2015
- ↑ Kansas Statutes,"Statute 25-4302. Recall Of Elected Officials: grounds for recall.," accessed February 9, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Kansas Statutes,"Statute 25-4305. Recall of elected officials: Recall of state officers; application; deposit; filing, when.," accessed February 9, 2015
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Kansas Secretary of State, "Chapter II. Election Administration," July 7, 2014
- ↑ Kansas Statutes, "Statute 25-4318: Recall of local officers; petition, filing.," accessed February 9, 2015
- ↑ Kansas Statutes,"Statute 25-4320: Petitions for recall of local officers; petition; contents; circulation; form; sample from election officer on request; affidavit.," accessed February 9, 2015
- ↑ Kansas Statutes,"Statute 25-4311. Recall of elected officials. Same; petition; affidavit; filing, when; number of signatures.," accessed February 9, 2015
- ↑ Kansas Statutes, "Recall Of Elected Officials: Statute 25-4325: Recall of local officers; petition; affidavit, form, number of signatures.," accessed February 9, 2015
- ↑ Kansas Statutes, "Statute 25-4324: Recall of elected officials. Same; petition; circulation; signatures; withdrawal.," accessed February 9, 2015
- ↑ Kansas Statutes, "Statute 25-4310. Same; petition; circulation; signatures; withdrawal.," accessed February 9, 2015
