Misty Cox recall, Mingus Union High School District, Arizona (2024)
| Mingus Union High School District recall |
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| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2024 Recalls in Arizona Arizona recall laws School board recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Misty Cox from her position on the Mingus Union High School District Governing Board in Arizona did not go to a vote in 2024. Recall supporters did not file petition signatures by the deadline on May 8, 2024.[1][2]
The recall effort began in January 2024. To get the recall on the ballot, supporters would have had to collect 2,627 signatures from voters in the school district.[1]
The effort against Cox started after she requested on October 30, 2023, that Superintendent Mike Westcott remove the following six books from the school district's library:[1]
- Queer as a 5-Dollar Bill by Lee Wind
- Queer: The Ultimate LGTBQ Guide for Teens by Kathy Belge and Marke Bieschke
- The New Queer Conscience by Adam Eli
- Love that Story: Observations from a Gorgeously Queer Life by Jonathan Van Ness
- The Pride Guide: A Guide to Sexual and Social Health for LGBTQ Youth by Jo Langford
- Body Talk: 37 Voices Explore Our Radical Anatomy edited by Kelly Jensen
Recall supporters
The recall petition was filed by Marianna Habern and stated:[1]
| “ | Misty Cox has consistently shown that the education and welfare of all of the students at Mingus Union High School is not a priority. She has consistently shown that her political agenda is her priority, at the expense of the mental and physical health of our students. In August of 2023, Misty questioned the presence of books in the MUHS library which aim to support LGTBQ+ students. This action on Misty’s part is a violation of federal laws [457 U.S. 853, 870 [1982] and many others], Arizona state laws [A.R.S. 15-120.02, A.R.S. 15-342 and many others] the Mingus Union High School policy handbook and a violation of her oath of office when Misty was sworn in as a Mingus Union Governing Board member. Misty is putting the district at risk of expensive lawsuits by trying to ban books based on content regarding sexual orientation and is trying to limit the information accessible to students based on her personal political agenda.[3] | ” |
Recall opponents
Ballotpedia did not identify a public response from Cox on the recall effort.
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Arizona
No specific grounds are required for recall in Arizona. To begin the recall process, supporters must file an application for a recall petition that must be approved by the relevant election office. To get the recall on the ballot, supporters must collect signatures equal to 25% of the votes cast for all candidates at the last election for the relevant office in 120 days.[4]
The recall petition against Cox was filed on January 9, 2024. To get the recall on the ballot, supporters would have had to collect 2,627 signatures from voters in the school district by May 8, 2024.[1]
2024 recall efforts
- See also: School board recalls
Ballotpedia tracked 40 school board recall efforts against 83 board members in 2024. Recall elections in 2024 removed 14 members from office, including three who resigned before the election, and retained seven members in office. The school board recall success rate was 13.4%.
The chart below details the status of 2024 recall efforts by individual school board member.
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
- Mingus Union High School District, Arizona
- Mingus Union High School District, Arizona, elections
- Recall campaigns in Arizona
- Political recall efforts, 2024
- School board recalls
- States that allow school board recalls
External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Mingus Union High School District
- Yavapai County School Superintendent’s Office
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Journal AZ, "Recall targets Mingus Union High School District Governing Board Vice President Misty Cox," January 31, 2024
- ↑ Abbey Smith, “Email communication with Jenn Nelson, Executive Assistant/Education Elections Coordinator for the Yavapa County Education Service Agency," May 14, 2024
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Arizona Secretary of State, "Recall," accessed October 16, 2023
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