Mandela Barnes recall, Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin (2020)
| Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor recall |
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| Recall status |
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| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2020 Recalls in Wisconsin Wisconsin recall laws State executive recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D) was launched on August 28, 2020. Supporters of the recall had up to 60 days—or no later than October 27, 2020—to collect the 668,327 signatures needed to require a recall election. Chief organizer Misty Polewczynski announced on October 26, 2020, that no signatures would be submitted in the recall effort.[1]
Recall supporters criticized Barnes over his response to the coronavirus pandemic and over the violence and protests in Kenosha, Wisconsin, following the police shooting of Jacob Blake.[2][3]
Barnes was elected as Wisconsin's lieutenant governor in 2018 as the running mate of Tony Evers (D).
To read about other recall efforts related to the coronavirus and government responses to the pandemic, click here.
Recall supporters
The recall effort was organized by Misty Polewczynski. In addition, Polewczynski also filed a recall effort against Gov. Tony Evers (D).[4][5] According to the recall petition, Barnes was targeted for recall for the following reasons:
| “ |
Mandela Barnes has proven to be unfit for office. His gross negligence in serving the citizens of Wisconsin has put the health, safety, and well being of the citizens, their property, and law enforcement in danger. He has continued to allow unconstitutional mandates, violence, and theft. His premature statements and clear beliefs have encouraged further violence within communities.[6] |
” |
| —Mandela Barnes Recall Petition Language[7] | ||
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Wisconsin
The number of valid signatures required for a recall election is 25% of the number of persons that voted in the last preceding election for the office of governor within the electoral district of the officer sought to be recalled. Each signer must be a qualified voter within the district represented by the officeholder being recalled, and the address of each signer must be located within that district.
Anyone who wants to circulate a recall petition is allowed to request from the appropriate filing officer the exact number of signatures required in the relevant political jurisdiction. When a filing officer receives such a request, they are required to make that determination and provide it to the person who requested the information.
Circulation of the recall petition must be completed within 60 days after registration. The completed petition must be returned to the original filing officer no later than 5:00 p.m. on the 60th day from the date of registration. Any signature dated before this 60 day period is invalid.
Within 31 days after the petition (with signatures) is submitted to the filing officer, he or she has 31 days to determine the sufficiency of the petition and also that it meets all necessary requirements. Following this review, the filing officer must attach to the petition either a certificate of sufficiency or of insufficiency, allowing at least 10 days for the officeholder being recalled to file any challenge.
If the petition is considered sufficient, the filing officer will submit it to the appropriate local governing body, which will then immediately call a recall election to be held on the Tuesday of the 6th week after the date on which the clerk issued the certificate of sufficiency.
Ballotpedia covered 35 coronavirus-related recall efforts against 94 officials in 2022, accounting for 13% of recalls that year. This is a decrease from both 2020 and 2021. COVID-related recalls accounted for 37% of all recall efforts in both 2020 and 2021. In 2020, there were 87 COVID-related recalls against 89 officials, and in 2021, there were 131 against 214 officials.
The chart below compares coronavirus-related recalls to recalls for all other reasons in 2020, 2021, and 2022.
Election history
2018
General election
General election for Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin
Mandela Barnes defeated incumbent Rebecca Kleefisch, Patrick Baird, Wil Losch, and Tiffany Anderson in the general election for Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Mandela Barnes (D) | 49.6 | 1,324,307 |
 | Rebecca Kleefisch (R) | 48.5 | 1,295,080 | |
| Patrick Baird (L) | 0.8 | 20,225 | ||
| Wil Losch (Independent) | 0.7 | 18,884 | ||
 | Tiffany Anderson (G) | 0.4 | 11,087 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.0 | 980 | ||
| Total votes: 2,670,563 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin
Mandela Barnes defeated Kurt Kober in the Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin on August 14, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mandela Barnes | 68.0 | 326,855 |
 | Kurt Kober | 32.0 | 153,994 | |
| Total votes: 480,849 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin
Incumbent Rebecca Kleefisch advanced from the Republican primary for Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin on August 14, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Rebecca Kleefisch | 100.0 | 407,420 |
| Total votes: 407,420 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Green primary election
Green primary for Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin
Tiffany Anderson advanced from the Green primary for Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin on August 14, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Tiffany Anderson | 100.0 | 793 |
| Total votes: 793 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Libertarian primary election
Libertarian primary for Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin
Patrick Baird advanced from the Libertarian primary for Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin on August 14, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Patrick Baird | 100.0 | 1,636 | |
| Total votes: 1,636 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Historical governor recalls
From 2003 to 2019, Ballotpedia tracked 58 gubernatorial recall efforts against 16 different governors. During that time, two recalls made the ballot and one governor was successfully recalled. Former California Gov. Gray Davis (D) was recalled by voters in 2003. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) was chosen as Davis' replacement. The only other governor to ever be successfully recalled was former North Dakota Gov. Lynn Frazier (R) in 1921. In 2012, Wisconsin voted to retain former Gov. Scott Walker (R) in the recall election. He received 53.1% of the vote.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Effort to force a recall election of Gov. Tony Evers fails to gather enough signatures," October 26, 2020
- ↑ The Recall Elections Blog, "Wisconsin: Petitions taken out against Governor/Lieutenant Governor," August 30, 2020
- ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "A Wisconsin resident upset by Kenosha violence has launched an effort to recall Gov. Tony Evers," August 28, 2020
- ↑ Facebook, "Misty Polewczynski," accessed August 27, 2020
- ↑ Wisconsin Public Radio, "Recall Effort Launched Against Barnes," August 29, 2020
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Facebook, "Misty Polewczynski," accessed August 27, 2020
