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Noah Arbit recall, Michigan House of Representatives (2023-2024)
| Rep. Noah Arbit recall |
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| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| Signature requirement |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2024 Recalls in Michigan Michigan recall laws State legislative recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Noah Arbit, a member of the Democratic Party, from his elected position representing District 20 in the Michigan House of Representatives was launched in October 2023. The Michigan Board of State Canvassers met on October 20, 2023, to hold a clarity and factual hearing on the recall's petition language. The board approved the petition for circulation. The approved recall petition was appealed to the state Court of Appeals on October 29. The court dismissed the appeal on December 13, 2023.[1] The recall petition was valid for 180 days from the date of the appeal—or no later than June 5, 2024. To initiate a recall election, supporters of the recall effort must submit signatures of at least 25% of the votes cast in the state House district in the last governor’s race within a 60-day period. The required signatures were not submitted to recall Arbit.
Proponents of the third recall effort criticized Arbit over his vote in favor of House Bill 4145.
On August 21, 2023, the Michigan Board of State Canvassers met to discuss a recall petition against Arbit that was introduced in August 2023. The board rejected the recall petition for circulation on a 2-1 vote. On August 1, 2023, the board of state canvassers met to discuss a recall petition against Arbit that was introduced on July 20, 2023. The board rejected the recall petition for circulation on a 2-2 vote.[2]
Arbit was elected to the state House in 2022. He defeated Albert Mansour (R) in the general election with 57% of the vote.
Recall supporters
First recall petition
Gerald Clixby filed the recall petition against Arbit on July 20, 2023, due to his vote in favor of House Bill 4474.[3] According to Michigan Advance, the legislation would "expand the definition of hate crimes to include violence on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, age and disability."[4] The Michigan Board of State Canvassers met on August 1, 2023, to hold a clarity and factual hearing on the recall's petition language. The board rejected the recall petition for circulation on a 2-2 vote.[5]
Second recall petition
Gerald Clixby refiled the recall petition against Arbit in August 2023. Clixby's first recall petition was previously rejected due to a lack of clarity. Clixby's second recall petition cited Arbit's vote in favor of House Bill 4474 as the reason for recall but it did not mention Arbit as the bill's sponsor.[6] The Michigan Board of State Canvassers met on August 21, 2023, to hold a clarity and factual hearing on the recall's petition language. The board rejected the recall petition for circulation on a 2-1 vote.
Third recall petition
Melissa A. Williams filed the recall petition against Arbit in October 2023 due to his vote in favor of House Bill 4145.[7] The bill only passed the House, but the Senate version of the bill was signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) in May 2023. The bill established a extreme risk protection order law, which allows family members, household members, and law enforcement officers to petition a court to restrict an individual's access to firearms. If the court finds that the person presents a danger to him- or herself or others, the person must surrender his or her firearms to law enforcement officials and is prohibited from buying, selling, or possessing firearms for a certain amount of time.[8][9]
The Michigan Board of State Canvassers met on October 20, 2023, to hold a clarity and factual hearing on the recall's petition language. The board approved the recall petition for circulation on a 3-1 vote.[10]
Recall opponents
After the first recall was announced, Arbit stated, "I wrote it and I sponsored it - in one of the proudest, most meaningful moments of my life." He also stated, "I will never apologize for fighting to protect ALL Michiganders from hate violence, and I will never be intimidated or cowed out of achieving my mission."[11]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Michigan
Election history
2022
See also: Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2022
General election
General election for Michigan House of Representatives District 20
Noah Arbit defeated Albert Mansour in the general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 20 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Noah Arbit (D)  | 56.6 | 27,824 |
 | Albert Mansour (R) | 43.4 | 21,303 | |
| Total votes: 49,127 | |||
| = 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 Michigan House of Representatives District 20
Noah Arbit defeated Ken Ferguson and James Sklar in the Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 20 on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Noah Arbit | 46.6 | 7,180 |
 | Ken Ferguson | 31.0 | 4,785 | |
 | James Sklar | 22.4 | 3,448 | |
| Total votes: 15,413 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 20
Albert Mansour defeated Diana Mohyi in the Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 20 on August 2, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Albert Mansour | 53.6 | 4,030 |
 | Diana Mohyi | 46.4 | 3,485 | |
| Total votes: 7,515 | |||
| = 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 state legislative recalls
Ballotpedia tracked 157 recall efforts against 148 state lawmakers from 1913 to 2022. During that time, 39 recalls made the ballot and 22 state legislators were successfully recalled.[12]
Michigan led the way with 37 state legislative recall efforts from 1913 to 2022. Of those 37 recall efforts, three were successful. Wisconsin followed with 30 state legislative recall efforts. Six of those recalls were successful.
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
- Recall campaigns in Michigan
- Political recall efforts, 2023
- Political recall efforts, 2024
- State legislative recalls
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Michigan Courts, "COA 368379," accessed February 2, 2024
- ↑ Detroit Free Press, "Michigan elections panel rejects 7 recall petitions targeting lawmakers; approves just 1," August 1, 2023
- ↑ WWMT, "Democratic sponsor of updated hate crime bill becomes seventh lawmaker to face recall," July 21, 2023
- ↑ Michigan Advance, "Recall petitions filed against 5 Democratic, 1 Republican House members," July 17, 2023
- ↑ Detroit Free Press, "Michigan elections panel rejects 7 recall petitions targeting lawmakers; approves just 1," August 1, 2023
- ↑ Michigan Advance, "Four previously rejected recall petitions for Michigan lawmakers refiled," August 9, 2023
- ↑ Michigan Bureau of Elections, "Board of State Canvassers - October 20, 2023," accessed October 23, 2023
- ↑ Giffords Law Center, "Extreme Risk Protection Orders," accessed June 14, 2018
- ↑ The Trace, "Red Flag Laws: Where the Bills Stand in Each State," March 29, 2018
- ↑ Twitter, "Beth LeBlanc on October 20, 2023," accessed October 23, 2023
- ↑ Bridge Michigan, "More Michigan lawmakers targeted for recall," July 21, 2023
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Recall of State Officials," accessed August 13, 2021
