Maxine Ward recall, Belleville, Wisconsin (2025)
| Maxine Ward recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| Recall election date |
| August 19, 2025 (primary) September 16, 2025 (general, canceled) |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2025 Recalls in Wisconsin Wisconsin recall laws City council recalls Recall reports |
A primary election to recall Maxine Ward from her position as a village trustee in Belleville, Wisconsin, was scheduled for August 19, 2025. Candidate Scott Canon was elected outright in the primary after earning a majority of the votes. A general election had been scheduled for September 16, 2025, but was not needed. The filing deadline for candidates interested in running against Ward in the recall election was July 22, 2025.[1][2]
Recall vote
Nonpartisan primary election
Special nonpartisan primary for Belleville Village Trustee
Scott Canon won election outright against incumbent Maxine Ward and Aaron Betts in the special primary for Belleville Village Trustee on August 19, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Scott Canon (Nonpartisan) | 68.6 | 254 | |
| Maxine Ward (Nonpartisan) | 18.4 | 68 | ||
| Aaron Betts (Nonpartisan) | 12.7 | 47 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 1 | ||
| Total votes: 370 | |||
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Recall supporters
The recall effort was initiated following comments Ward made during the March 3, 2025, meeting of the Belleville Village Board regarding special education.[3]
During the meeting, Ward said, "What would happen to our special ed program if we said nu-uh, you need to go elsewhere?" and "I was concerned when I went up there, I realize special eds, you can't classify them all as special ed, each one is individual, but I have to say, it was a shock to me to see a child, no, this was a young man that rode a tricycle, an over-large tricycle, up and down the hall, screaming to the top of his voice and trying to teach a class was ridiculous. And that's a part of the special ed, which I'm sorry, I have a hard time dealing with."[4]
Recall opponents
During the March 17, 2025, village board meeting, Ward said, "First and foremost, I want to apologize if I offended anyone at our last meeting. That was not my intention. I was thinking about the budget and school referendum, and again, I did not intend to offend anyone."[3]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Wisconsin
No specific grounds are required for recall in Wisconsin. To get the recall on the ballot, supporters must collect signatures equal to 25% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election in the relevant jurisdiction. Signatures must be collected within 60 days.[5]
Recall context
- See also: Ballotpedia's Recall Report
Ballotpedia covers recall efforts across the country for all state and local elected offices. A recall effort is considered official if the petitioning party has filed an official form, such as a notice of intent to recall, with the relevant election agency.
The chart below shows how many officials were included in recall efforts from 2012 to 2024 as well as how many of them defeated recall elections to stay in office and how many were removed from office in recall elections.
See also
- Ballotpedia's Recall Report
- Belleville, Wisconsin
- Recall campaigns in Wisconsin
- Political recall efforts, 2025
- City council recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Belleville, "Recall Election," accessed July 14, 2025
- ↑ Belleville, "Certification of the Board of Canvassers," accessed August 20, 2025
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Channel 3000, "Calling for recall: Belleville Village board member under fire for comments on special education," March 18, 2025
- ↑ YouTube, "Village of Belleville, WI Village Board Meeting March 3, 2025," March 7, 2025
- ↑ Wisconsin Statutes, "9.10 Recall." accessed October 17, 2023
