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Mayor and city commission recall, Benton Harbor, Michigan (2025)
| Mayor and city commission recall |
|---|
 |
| Officeholders |
SaTanna Warren Sharon Henderson Ron Singleton Edward Isom |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2025 Recalls in Michigan Michigan recall laws Mayoral recalls City council recalls Recall reports |
Efforts to recall Mayor Marcus Muhammad, councilmember SaTanna Warren, councilmember Sharon Henderson, and councilmember Edward Isom in Benton Harbor, Michigan did not go to a vote because no signatures were filed.[1]
An effort to recall councilmember Ron Singleton did not go to a vote after recall organizers withdrew the petition.
Recall supporters
The recall effort against Muhammad and Warren was organized in response to a city commission vote to appoint Alex Little as city manager. Benton Harbor residents Gershon Clay and Tommie Earl Jackson filed the petitions against Muhammad and Warren, respectively.[2]
Recall efforts against Muhammad, Henderson, and Isom were organized by Benton Harbor resident Dennie Brown. Petition language stated that Henderson should be recalled for "operating in violation of Section 22 of the city’s charter merit system, by omitting the duties and responsibilities of the civil service board."[2][3]
Brown filed the recall effort against Singleton but withdrew the petition before it could be reviewed in a clarity hearing.[2]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Michigan
No specific grounds are required for recall in Michigan. To get a recall on the ballot in Michigan, recall supporters must collect signatures equal in number to 25% of voters in the jurisdiction in the last gubernatorial election. They have 60 days between the collection of the first signature and the collection of the last signature on the petition. Recall petitions are eligible to collect signatures for 180 days.[4][5][6]
On February 26, 2025, the Berrien County Election Commission held a clarity hearing for the recalls against Muhammad and Warren. Petitions were rejected on the grounds that there were spelling mistakes in the recall language. Recall organizers refiled the petitions after making corrections.[7] On March 12, 2025, the election commission approved petitions against Muhammad and Warren.[8]
A clarity hearing for Brown's recall efforts against Muhammad, Henderson, and Isom was held on March 21, 2025. All three petitions were rejected on the grounds that they lacked clarity.[9]
A clarity hearing for Brown's recall efforts against Muhammad, Henderson, and Isom was held on April 3, 2025. The language filed against Muhammad on March 21 and March 23, 2025, was rejected. The language filed against Henderson and Isom on March 21, 2025, was rejected. The language filed against Henderson and Isom on March 23, 2025, was approved for circulation. Recall organizers needed to collect 122 signatures to trigger a recall election for Henderson, and 426 signatures to trigger a recall of Isom.[10]
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
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Ballotpedia staff, "Email communication with Berrien County Clerk Stacy Loar-Porter," October 3, 2025
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 WSJM, "Recall petitions filed against Benton Harbor Mayor, two commissioners," February 17, 2025
- ↑ The Herald-Palladium, "Benton Harbor recall petitions rejected over spelling errors," February 26, 2025
- ↑ Michigan Election Law, "Act 116 of 1954: 168.955 Recall petition; number of signatures; certification." accessed October 13, 2023
- ↑ 'Michigan Election Law, "Act 116 of 1954: 168.961 Recall petition; filing; receipt; duties of filing official; duties of city or township clerk; certificate; duties of village clerk; use of qualified voter file." accessed October 13, 2023
- ↑ Michigan Election Officials' Manual, "Chapter 18 Recall Process," August 2017
- ↑ ABC 57, "Recall rejected for elected officials after spelling mistakes," February 26, 2025
- ↑ WNDU, "Recall language approved against Benton Harbor mayor, 2nd Ward commissioner," March 13, 2025
- ↑ The Herald-Palladium, "Three recall petitions against Benton Harbor officials denied," March 22, 2025
- ↑ Ballotpedia staff, "Email communication with Berrien County Clerk Stacy Loar-Porter," April 21, 2025
