Laws governing recall in Arizona
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Laws governing recall in Arizona are defined in Article 8 of the Arizona Constitution.
The authority to conduct a recall election in Arizona applies to "Every public officer in the state of Arizona, holding an elective office, either by election or appointment."[1]
Filing the recall petition
A recall can be filed against any public officer on any grounds. The recall may not be filed until after the elected official has been in office in his or her first term for at least six months. This six-month limit does not apply to state legislators. In the case of state legislators, a recall petition may commence five days after the start of their first legislative session after their election. In the case of other elected officials, there is no six-month limit for subsequent terms in office.[2]
A recall petition must be filed at the office in which the officer being recalled files for nomination. The petition must contain a general statement explaining the recall, not exceeding 200 words. This petition must be signed by the sponsors who swear an oath that all signatures collected will be valid signatures.
Signature requirements
| Can you recall a federal official? | |
| The U.S. Constitution does not provide for recall of any elected federal official. Although some state constitutions have stated that their citizens have the right to recall members of the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Supreme Court has not ruled on whether this is constitutional at the federal level. Read Ballotpedia's explanation » | |
- See also: Arizona signature requirements
The number of signatures required to qualify for a recall attempt for the ballot is 25% of the number of votes cast in the last election for that office. Recall supporters have 120 days to collect signatures.
Recall election
If enough signatures are gathered, a recall election will be held. All qualified candidates can run against the incumbent. Whoever gets the most votes wins the office. If the incumbent wins he/she remains in office and no other recall can occur during that term unless the proponents pay the cost of the prior recall election.
See also
- Laws governing recall
- States that have pre-petition signature requirements for recalls
- States that require grounds for recalls
External links
Footnotes
