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Maricopa County Board of Supervisors recall, Arizona (2021)
| Maricopa County Board of Supervisors recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
Jack Sellers Bill Gates Clint Hickman Steve Gallardo |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2021 Recalls in Arizona Arizona recall laws County commission recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall all five members of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in Arizona did not go to a vote in 2021.[1][2]
The effort to recall District 2 supervisor Steve Chucri (R) began in February 2021. Recall supporters had to submit signatures by June 12, 2021, to get the recall on the ballot.[2] They did not submit the signatures by the deadline.[1]
The effort to recall the other four members of the board failed to collect enough signatures by the April 2021 deadline.[2] District 1 Supervisor Jack Sellers (R), District 3 Supervisor Bill Gates (R), District 4 Supervisor Clint Hickman (R), and District 5 Supervisor Steve Gallardo (D) were named in recall petitions after the board voted 4-1 to not respond to subpoenas that were issued by Republican members of the Arizona State Legislature seeking an audit of Maricopa County's election software following the 2020 presidential general election, according to ABC 15. The four supervisors also voted to file a lawsuit with the Maricopa County Superior Court asking whether or not they had to respond to the subpoenas. Chucri voted against the two measures.[3][4]
The superior court judge ruled the subpoenas were moot when the legislative session ended. The state Senate issued new subpoenas when the new session started in January 2020. The county supervisors voted 5-0 on February 4, 2021, to seek to "protect the integrity of the electoral process and the privacy of the ballots and the voters of Maricopa County in the courts."[5] They filed a new lawsuit against the subpoenas on February 5, 2021.[6] On February 26, 2021, a superior court judge ruled that the Senate's subpoenas were valid. In response to the ruling, Sellers said the county would "immediately start working to provide the Arizona Senate with the ballots and other materials."[7]
The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to certify the county's election results from the general election on November 3, 2020. The results showed Joe Biden (D) had received a majority of the votes cast in the county.[8]
Recall supporters
The recall effort was started by a group called We The People AZ Alliance. Shelby Busch (R), an unsuccessful 2020 write-in candidate for Arizona House of Representatives District 19, is listed as the chairperson of the recall effort.[4]
The recall petitions allege the supervisors violated their oath of office and "disregarded the fundamental rights of Arizona citizens afforded by our United States and State of Arizona Constitution."[4]
Recall opponents
After the board voted to file the lawsuit with the Maricopa County Superior Court, they released the following statement:
| “ | Board members believe the 2020 General Election is over. The results have been certified. Maricopa County’s process throughout was transparent and the results produced were accurate. The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors will continue to provide secure elections and will not allow false allegations driven by conjecture to deviate the Board from that mission.[3][9] | ” |
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Arizona
Recall supporters filed letters of intent to recall for Sellers, Gates, Hickman, and Gallardo with the Maricopa County Recorder's Office on December 30, 2020. To get the recalls on the ballot, recall supporters had to collect between 50,000 and 100,000 signatures per supervisor in 120 days.[4] The recall effort did not collect enough signatures by the deadline.[2]
The letter of intent to recall Chucri was filed in February 2021. Recall supporters had to submit signatures by June 12, 2021, to get the recall on the ballot.[2]
See also
- Government of Maricopa County, Arizona
- Recall campaigns in Arizona
- Political recall efforts, 2021
- County commission recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Hope Olguin, Election Services Manager, Office of Maricopa County Recorder," June 16, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 AZ Mirror, "Recall effort against 4 Maricopa County supervisors falls short," April 29, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 ABC 15, "Group aims to recall some Maricopa County Supervisors," December 30, 2020
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Arizona Republic, "Outgoing Maricopa County Treasurer Royce Flora resigns early, citing 'toxic' environment," December 31, 2020
- ↑ Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, "Action Summary for Special Meeting of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors held February 4, 2021," accessed April 30, 2021
- ↑ Arizona Republic, "Arizona Senate contempt vote: How did we get here, what does it mean and will county supervisors get arrested?" February 7, 2021
- ↑ Arizona Republic, "Judge rules Maricopa County must provide 2020 ballots to Arizona Senate for audit under subpoenas," February 26, 2021
- ↑ ABC 15, "Online death threats target Maricopa County Board of Supervisors," January 8, 2021
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
