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Laws governing recall in Michigan
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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 Michigan. Michigan allows for the recall of all elected state and local officials, with the exception of judges of courts of record.
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.
Michigan and Oregon, which also created the right of recall in 1908, were the first two states to adopt statewide recall procedures.[1]
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.[2] Ballotpedia does not provide coverage of federal recalls. Click here for more information.
State officials
Under Article II, Section 8 of the Michigan Constitution, all elected state officials, except judges of courts of record, may be recalled.[3]
Local officials
Michigan law permits the recall of all local elected officials, except for judges.[3]
Process
Michigan officeholders who are subject to recall and hold terms longer than two years cannot be recalled in the first or last year of their current term in office. Those who hold terms shorter than two years cannot be recalled in the first or last six months of their current term of office.[4]
Prerequisites
Petition filing
Recall petitions against state officials are filed with the Michigan Secretary of State unless it is a recall of the secretary of state, in which case it is filed with the governor. Local recall petitions are filed with the county clerk.[4][5]
Clarity hearing
A clarity and factual hearing is the first step in the recall process. Michigan laws state that the reason for the petition must be deemed clear and factual before the recall petition can be placed in circulation.[4]
Laws governing clarity and factual hearings are as follows:
- Recall petitions targeting state and county officers (except county commissioners) must be filed with the Board of State Canvassers (BSC) before circulation. The BSC will make clarity/factual determinations, with appeals to the Court of Appeals.[4]
- Recall petitions targeting all local officials, including county commissioners, will be submitted to the board of county election commissioners for clarity/factual determinations, with appeals to the circuit court.[4][6]
- The clarity/factual hearing must be held between 10 and 20 days after the filing of the petition.[4][6]
Petition
Signature requirements
To trigger a recall election, a petition must contain valid signatures from at least 25% of the voters who participated in the most recent gubernatorial election in the officer’s electoral district.[7]
Circulation timeline
The recall petition remains valid for 180 days following its approval by the Michigan Board of State Canvassers at the clarity and factuality hearing. If the petition is appealed to the Court of Appeals, it is not valid for circulation until the court issues a decision or until 40 days have passed since the date of the appeal—whichever comes first. Any signatures dated more than 60 days before the petition is filed will not be counted.[4] For the recall of state officials, the petition is submitted to the Michigan Secretary of State; for local officials, the petition is submitted to the county or township clerk in the county where the official resides.[8]
Signature verification
The clerk or the Secretary of State then has 35 days to determine the validity of the signatures on the petition by verifying the voter registration status of those who signed.[9]
Challenges
The officer may challenge the validity of a circulator or signer of the petition. This must be filed within 30 days after the filing of the recall petition.[10]
Election
Scheduling the recall election
If enough signatures on a recall petition are verified to put the recall on the ballot, a recall election must "be held not less than 95 days after the date the recall petition is filed and shall be held on the next May regular election date or the next November regular election date, whichever occurs first."[4]
Recall election held
A valid recall petition triggers an election to fill the remainder of the targeted official’s term, with the incumbent automatically appearing on the ballot. The candidate receiving the most votes becomes the elected official. If the incumbent does not receive the highest vote total, the recall is successful and the incumbent is removed from office.[4]
Legislation involving recall elections
The table below lists bills related to recall elections in Michigan. 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
- National Conference of State Legislatures, Statewide Recall
- Michigan Secretary of State, Recall Procedures
Footnotes
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Recall of State Officials," accessed October 13, 2023
- ↑ Congressional Research Service, "Recall of Legislators and the Removal of Members of Congress from Office," January 5, 2012
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Michigan Legislature, "MCL - Article II § 8," accessed September 16, 2025
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 Michigan Secretary of State, "Recall Process Manual: Filing and Canvassing Recall Petitions in Michigan," accessed September 17, 2025
- ↑ Michigan Legislature, "MCL - Section 168.960," accessed September 17, 2025
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 The Ann Arbor Chronicle Enrolled House Bill No. 660, accessed February 12, 2016
- ↑ Michigan Legislature, "Act 116 of 1954: 168.955 Recall petition; number of signatures; certification." accessed October 13, 2023
- ↑ https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-168-961 Michigan Legislature, "Act 116 of 1954: 168.961 Recall petition; filing; receipt; duties of filing official; duties of city or township clerk; certificate; duties of village clerk; use of qualified voter file." accessed October 13, 2023]
- ↑ Michigan Election Law, "Act 116 of 1954: 168.963 Sufficiency or insufficiency of recall petition; determination; notice; recall election; recall primary election; special recall election." accessed October 13, 2023
- ↑ Michigan Election Law, "Act 116 of 1954: 168.961a Notice to officer whose recall is sought; challenge; checking signatures; verifying challenged signature; use of qualified voter file." accessed October 13, 2023
