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Laws governing recall in Montana
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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 Montana. All state officials and officials of subdivisions of the state (counties, municipalities, and schools districts) in Montana are subject to recall according to state law.[1]
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.
Officers 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
Montana Code Ann. § 2-16-603 provides that "[a]ny person holding a public office of the state or any of its political subdivisions, either by election or appointment, is subject to recall from office."[3]
Local officials
Local officials are subject to recall under Montana Code Ann. § 2-16-603.[3]
Process
Prerequisites
Term length
Montana Code Ann. § 2-16-603 provides that "[a] recall petition against an officer may not be approved for circulation...until an officer has held office for 2 months" and "[a] recall petition may not be filed against an officer for whom a recall election has been held for a period of 2 years during the officer's term of office unless the state or political subdivision or subdivisions financing the recall election are first reimbursed for all expenses of the preceding recall election."[3]
Reasons for recall
Montana Code Ann. § 2-16-603 provides that public officers may be recalled for "[p]hysical or mental lack of fitness, incompetence, violation of the oath of office, official misconduct, or conviction of a felony offense enumerated in Title 45."[3]
Petition
Petition form
The process to recall an official in Montana begins with filing a petition with the Montana Secretary of State or the county election administrator and stating the reason for the official being recalled.
Signature requirements
Montana Code Ann. § 2-16-603 provides that "[a] petition for the recall of a state-district officer must contain the signatures of qualified electors equaling at least 15% of the number of persons registered to vote in the last preceding election in that district" and "[e]xcept as provided in subsection (3)(b), recall petitions for elected or appointed county officers must contain the signatures of qualified electors equaling at least 15% of the number of persons registered to vote at the preceding county general election."[3]
Circulation timeline
Montana Code Ann. § 2-16-603 provides that "[s]igned circulation sheets or sections of a petition for recall must be submitted to the officer responsible for registration of electors in the county in which the signatures were obtained within 3 months of the date the form of the petition was approved under 2-16-617."[3]
Signature verification
Once the signatures have been gathered, they are sent to the Montana Secretary of State or the county election administrator for approval. The task of actually approving the signatures is done by the county clerk of each county. Each county clerk has 30 days to approve the signatures.[3]
Election
After the petition signatures have been verified a recall election date is set. The election is conducted via a yes/no ballot. The form of the ballot is laid out in Montana Code Ann. § 2-16-633: "The ballot at a recall election must set forth the statement contained in the recall petition stating the reasons for demanding the recall of the officer and the officer's statement of reasons why the officer should not be recalled. The question of whether the officer should be recalled must be placed on the ballot in a form similar to the following:
FOR recalling...who holds the office of...
AGAINST recalling...who holds the office of..."
If the majority of voters vote to recall the official the office is considered vacant and a new election must be held to fill the vacancy. If a vacancy occurs within 85 days of the general election in the second year of the term (terms are for four years), the county board of commissioners appoints a successor to serve until the election.[3]
Legislation involving recall elections
The table below lists bills related to recall elections in Montana. 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
Footnotes
- ↑ Justia, "Montana Code Annotated 2-16-6," accessed May 29, 2017
- ↑ Congressional Research Service, "Recall of Legislators and the Removal of Members of Congress from Office," January 5, 2012
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Montana Code Annotated, "2-16-603. Officers subject to recall -- grounds for recall." accessed September 17, 2025
