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Pete Lee recall, Colorado State Senate (2019)
| Colorado State Senate recall |
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| Officeholders |
| Recall status |
| See also |
| Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2019 Recalls in Colorado Colorado recall laws State legislative recalls Recall reports |
An effort to recall Pete Lee, a member of the Democratic Party, from his elected position representing District 11 in the Colorado State Senate was launched in July 2019. The recall was approved for circulation on July 12, 2019, and was submitted by Scott David Fisher. Supporters had until September 10, 2019, to collect 11,304 signatures to force a recall election.[1]
On September 10, 2019, supporters of the recall told the Colorado Secretary of State’s office that no signatures would be turned in for the recall effort.[2]
Recall supporters criticized Lee because he supported legislation related to firearms, oil and gas, the national popular vote, and sex education during the 2019 legislative session. All four bills were signed into law by Gov. Jared Polis (D) in 2019. After the recall was announced, Sen. Lee issued a statement in response.
To read more on the recall efforts against the Colorado governor and other state legislative members in 2019, click here.
Lee was elected to the state Senate in 2018 with 62% of the vote. Prior to the 2018 election, Michael Merrifield (D) represented District 11 from 2015 to 2019.
Recall supporters
The recall petitioners began the effort in response to Lee's support of four bills. According to The Gazette, the recall was supported by the same group backing the recall against Gov. Polis.[3] The petition listed the following legislation as the reasons for recall:
| “ |
Senator Pete Lee, representing Senate District 11, should be recalled because he sponsored legislation to create a paid family and medical leave program to be funded by a mandatory tax on businesses and employees, disingenuously referring to it as a “fee” instead of a tax, and he voted for the passage of:
|
” |
| —Sen. Lee Recall Statement of Grounds[5] | ||
Recall opponents
After the recall was announced against Sen. Lee, he said: "I am disappointed that radical activists have decided to disrespect the voters of Senate District 11 and undermine the electoral process. I was elected eight months ago by 60% of the voters. To overturn the will of the people because of a disagreement on a couple of votes is inconsistent with our democratic process. They couldn’t defeat me in the election so they’re taking the back door of a recall."[3]
After the recall effort ended, Lee made the following statement: "With the defeat of three successive recall efforts, my hope is that we reaffirm our faith in the electoral process, respect the will of the voters and leave extraordinary measures for extraordinary circumstances. Let’s renew our commitment to working together on policies that benefit the people of Colorado."[2]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Laws governing recall in Colorado
First, a recall petition must be filed with the office in which nomination petitions are filed for the office that is being recalled. Generally, this office is the Colorado Secretary of State. The petition must include a statement of no less than 200 words explaining the ground on which the official is to be recalled. This regulation is for the benefit of citizens who will sign the petition.
After the petition is approved by the Secretary of State, circulation of the petition may begin. Petitioners have 60 days to gather the proper number of signatures. The number of valid signatures required to force a special recall election is 25% of the votes cast in the last election for the official being recalled. After the proper number of signatures have been gathered the petition is submitted to the office in which it was filed to be deemed sufficient. This entails verifying the signatures. Once the petition has been deemed sufficient, the office in which it was filed will deliver the petition along with a certificate of its sufficiency to the governor who will then set a date for the recall election.
The recall petition targeting Lee was approved for circulation by the secretary of state on July 12, 2019. Supporters of the recall needed to collect 11,304 signatures by September 10, 2019, to force a recall election. Supporters announced on September 10 that they would not be submitting any signatures to the secretary of state's office for the recall.[2]
Election history
2018
- See also: Colorado State Senate elections, 2018
General election
General election for Colorado State Senate District 11
Pete Lee defeated Pat McIntire in the general election for Colorado State Senate District 11 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Pete Lee (D) | 62.0 | 28,015 |
| Pat McIntire (R) | 38.0 | 17,200 | ||
| Total votes: 45,215 (100.00% precincts reporting) | |||
 = 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. | ||||
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Colorado State Senate District 11
Pete Lee advanced from the Democratic primary for Colorado State Senate District 11 on June 26, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Pete Lee | 100.0 | 10,499 |
| Total votes: 10,499 | |||
| = 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 Colorado State Senate District 11
Pat McIntire advanced from the Republican primary for Colorado State Senate District 11 on June 26, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Pat McIntire | 100.0 | 7,580 | |
| Total votes: 7,580 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Colorado state legislative and state executive recalls in 2019
The table below highlighted each recall effort in Colorado targeting state executive and state legislative members in 2019.
| 2019 Colorado state legislative and state executive recalls | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Office | Party | Status | Signature deadline | Reached the ballot | Recalled |
| Jared Polis | Governor | Democratic | Official; ended | September 6, 2019 |  |
- |
| Pete Lee | Senate District 11 | Democratic | Official; ended | September 10, 2019 | |
- |
| Brittany Pettersen | Senate District 22 | Democratic | Official; ended | September 16, 2019 | |
- |
| Leroy Garcia | Senate District 3 | Democratic | Official; ended | October 18, 2019 | |
- |
| Rochelle Galindo | House District 50 | Democratic | Official; ended | June 3, 2019 | |
- |
| Tom Sullivan | House District 37 | Democratic | Official; ended | July 12, 2019 | |
- |
| Bri Buentello | House District 47 | Democratic | Unofficial; ended | - | |
- |
| Jeff Bridges | Senate District 26 | Democratic | Unofficial; ended | - | |
- |
| Meg Froelich | House District 3 | Democratic | Unofficial; ended | - | |
- |
Historical state legislative recalls
Ballotpedia tracked 124 recall efforts against 120 state lawmakers from 1913 to 2018. During that time, 39 recalls made the ballot and 22 state legislators were successfully recalled.[6]
Michigan led the way with 35 state legislative recall efforts from 1913 to 2018. Of those 35 recall efforts, three were successful. Wisconsin followed with 30 state legislative recall efforts. Six of those recalls were successful.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Recall Petitions," accessed July 15, 2019
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 The Colorado Sun, "Attempted recall of Democratic state senators fail after proponents decide not to turn in signatures," September 10, 2019
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Gazette, "Republican targets Democratic Colorado Springs state Sen. Pete Lee for recall," July 12, 2019
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Colorado Secretary of State, "Sen. Pete Lee Recall," accessed July 15, 2019
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Recall of State Officials," accessed August 13, 2021
