Four Midwestern states (Kansas, Michigan,
Minnesota and Wisconsin) have constitutional language
allowing voters to recall legislators and other state officials.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 14
states outside this region allow constituents to replace or remove a
state official before the end of his or her term in office.
In many states, these provisions are rarely, if
ever, used.
However, some Michigan and Wisconsin legislators
have been the subject of recall campaigns over the past few years.
Most recently, after the Michigan Legislature voted this fall to
raise taxes as part of a plan to balance the state’s nearly $1.8
billion budget deficit, some lawmakers who voted for the increase
became targets of a recall push.
In Wisconsin, a state legislator was removed from
office in 1996 over his vote in favor of a regional sales tax to
fund the Milwaukee Brewers’ new ballpark. Seven years later, another
Wisconsin legislator was recalled. His ouster came after votes on
the state budget and tribal gaming angered constituents as well as
members of his own legislative caucus. A handful of other Wisconsin
lawmakers have successfully fended off recall campaigns in recent
years.
In 2007, a recall measure was introduced in the
Illinois General Assembly. Republican state Sen. Dan Cronin of
Elmhurst, the main sponsor of the proposed constitutional amendment
(SJRCA 70), says giving people the recall alternative is needed to
"truly change the conduct of state government." In particular, he
says, voters should have the chance to remove a governor "incapable
of governing."
Minnesota was the last state in the Midwest to add a
recall provision, with voters there approving a constitutional
amendment in 1996. In that state, a recall petition must specify why
the state official should be removed from office (serious
malfeasance, nonfeasance or conviction of a serious crime) and be
vetted by the state Supreme Court. If the justices agree there are
grounds for a recall, the petition must be signed by a number equal
to 25 percent of the number of votes cast for the affected office in
the previous election.
States’ recall laws can vary in a number of ways. Those
differences include: the specific grounds, if any, needed to remove
someone from office; the number of signatures required to get a
recall petition on the ballot; and how and when recall elections are
held.
