Laws governing recall in Minnesota
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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 Minnesota. Minnesota allows for the recall of elected state and local 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 officials
Article VIII, Section 6 of the Minnesota Constitution provides that the following state offices are subject to recall: governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, auditor, attorney general, state senator or representative, and judges of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, or a district court.[2]
Local officials
Local recall laws in Minnesota differ across jurisdictions.
Process
Prerequisites
Reasons for recall
- See also: States that require grounds for recalls
First, a proposed recall petition must be submitted to the Minnesota Secretary of State specifying the grounds upon which the official should be recalled. The grounds for recall must be one of the following: malfeasance, nonfeasance, or a serious crime. For statewide offices, the petition must also include 25 signatures from eligible Minnesota voters. The secretary of state verifies the signatures and, if valid, submits them to the Minnesota Supreme Court.[3]
The court has 10 days to decide whether to dismiss the proposed petition or to schedule a public hearing to assess if the grounds for recall are sufficient. If a hearing is deemed necessary, the court will appoint a special master to handle the case. The hearing will take place within 21 days of the case being assigned, and the special master will submit a report to the court within seven days of the hearing. The court will make a decision on the proposed petition within 20 days of receiving the special master's report. If the court determines that the grounds for recall are valid, the court will order the secretary of state to issue a recall petition.[4]
Petition
Signature requirements
Once the petition has been approved for circulation, supporters have to collect signatures equal to 25% of the total votes cast for the office in the last election to trigger a recall election.[5][6]
Circulation timeline
The recall petition must be submitted within 90 days of its approval for circulation. After collecting the signatures, the petition must be submitted to the Secretary of State for verification. If the signatures are valid, the petition is forwarded to the governor and a date for the recall election is scheduled.[5]
Election
The election will be a Yes/No ballot in which voters will select Yes if they are in favor of removing the official from office or No if they are against it.[7] If a majority of voters vote Yes, the office will be declared vacant.[8]
Legislation involving recall elections
The table below lists bills related to recall elections in Minnesota. 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
- Minnesota Secretary of State Recall Process page
Footnotes
- ↑ Congressional Research Service, "Recall of Legislators and the Removal of Members of Congress from Office," January 5, 2012
- ↑ Minnesota Legislature, "Constitution of the State of Minnesota - Article VIII, Section 6," accessed September 17, 2025
- ↑ Minnesota Statutes, "Section 211C.04," accessed February 17, 2023
- ↑ Minnesota Statutes, "Section 211C.05," accessed February 4, 2025
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Minnesota Constitution, "Article VIII," accessed February 4, 2025
- ↑ Minnesota Statutes, "Section 211C.06," accessed February 4, 2025
- ↑ Minnesota Statutes, "Section 211C.071," accessed February 4, 2025
- ↑ Minnesota Statutes, "Section 211C.08," accessed February 4, 2025
