Laws governing recall in California

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The citizens of California are granted the authority to perform a recall election by Article 2, Sections 13-19 of the California Constitution.

The authority to conduct a recall election in California applies to officials at the state and local levels; as with most states, the right of recall in California does not extend to recalling federal politicians. In California, citizens can recall judges of courts of appeal and trial courts.

Signature requirements

Main article: California signature requirements

State officials

For recall of state officials, proponents must file a notice-of-intent-to-recall petition signed by 50 registered voters or by a number of registered voters "equal to five times the number of signatures required to have been filed on the nomination paper of the officer sought to be recalled, whichever is higher."

For the actual petition, signatures must equal a percentage of the total number of votes most recently cast for the targeted office—12% for executive officials and 20% for state legislators and judges. In addition, the petition must include signatures from each of at least five counties equal in number to 1% of the last vote for the office in that county.

See law: Article 2, Sections 13-19 of the California Constitution

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 »

Local officials

The number of valid signatures required to put a local recall question on the ballot varies by the number of registered voters in the jurisdiction. For the officials of a city, county, school district, county board of education, or any resident voting district, signatures from the following percentage of registered voters are required:

• 30% in jurisdictions with 0 - 1,000 registered voters
• 25% in jurisdictions with 1,000 - 10,000 registered voters
• 20% in jurisdictions with 10,000 - 50,000 registered voters
• 15% in jurisdictions with 50,000 - 100,000 registered voters
• 10% in jurisdictions with 100,000 or more registered voters

Charter cities can have different signature thresholds. Los Angeles, for example, requires a 15% signature threshold for recall elections.

Judges also have a specific threshold. Section 14 of Article II of the California Constitution requires that signatures on recall petitions against judges be equal to 20% of the votes cast for the judge in the last election, rather than a percentage of registered voters. In the case of a county superior court judge position that did not appear on the ballot at the last relevant election, signatures equaling 20% of votes cast for whichever countywide office received the least total number of votes in the most recent general election in the judge's county must be collected to qualify a recall of the judge for the ballot.

See laws: California elections code Section 2187, California elections code Section 11221 & Section 14 of Article II of the California Constitution

Petition process

In California, the recall process starts with a notice of intention to recall. The notice must be served to the officer whose recall is being sought as well as published in a newspaper of general circulation. The notice must then be filed with the relevant election office. Once the notice has been deemed sufficient by the election office, a petition must also be filed and approved by the election office. Once the petition is approved, it can be circulated. The number of signatures required and the amount of time allowed for circulation depends on the office level and the size of the jurisdiction. If the recall petition is filed by the deadline, the election office will verify the signatures. If enough signatures are verified, a recall election will be scheduled.

Notice of intention

“

(a) The notice of intention shall contain all of the following: (1) The name and title of the officer sought to be recalled. (2) A statement, not exceeding 200 words in length, of the reasons for the proposed recall. (3) The printed name, signature, and residence address, including street and number, city, and ZIP Code, of each of the proponents of the recall. If a proponent cannot receive mail at the residence address, the proponent shall provide an alternative mailing address. The notice of intention shall include at least the number of proponents specified in subdivision (b). (4) The provisions of Section 11023. (b) (1) For a state office, and for a local office where the number of registered voters in the electoral jurisdiction is at least 100,000, the minimum number of proponents listed on the notice of intention is 50, or equal to five times the number of signatures required to have been filed on the nomination paper of the officer sought to be recalled, whichever is higher. (2) For a local office where the number of registered voters in the electoral jurisdiction is at least 1,000 but less than 100,000, the minimum number of proponents listed on the notice of intention is 30, or equal to three times the number of signatures required to have been filed on the nomination paper of the officer sought to be recalled, whichever is higher. (3) For a local office where the number of registered voters in the electoral jurisdiction is less than 1,000, the minimum number of proponents listed on the notice of intention is 30.

”

Petition form

The Secretary of State must provide a petition format to proponents on request from the county elections department. Proponents must use the provided format to collect signatures.

Each signer must personally write in the following:

• His or her signatures
• His or her printed name
• His or her residence address
• Name of city or unincorporated community of residence

See laws: California Code Division 11, Chapter 1, Article 3, Section 11043 & California Code Division 11, Chapter 1, Article 3, Section 11043.5

Valid signatures

Each person who signs the petition must be a registered voter in the jurisdiction of the official against whom the recall attempt is being pursued. If the signer is not such a registered voter, his or her signature will not be counted.

See law: California Code Division 11, Chapter 1

Circulator restrictions

A recall petition circulator must be a registered voter in the jurisdiction of the official against whom a recall is sought. Each petition form must contain a declaration signed by the circulator that he or she is such a registered voter.

See law: California Code Division 11, Chapter 1, Article 3, Section 11046

Petition filing

Proponents must file all parts of a recall petition at the same time. If the petitions submitted to any given elections office contain less than 500 signatures, the elections officials must check each signature manually. If the petitions submitted contain more than 500 signatures, the elections officials may use a random sampling method.

If the petition signatures are found to be sufficient, the elections official must present his findings to the relevant governing body at its next regular meeting.

See laws: California elections code Section 11224 & California elections code Section 11222

Filing a state recall petition

Each petition form for a state recall petition drive must be filed with the elections official of the county in which it was circulated. Each county elections office must verify the signatures that are submitted to it. County officials must report to the Secretary of State on the status of the signatures submitted every 30 days. After the filing deadline for the petition passes, election officials will have 60 days to verify the signatures unless the California Secretary of State determines a 60-day verification window "could cause the recall election to be ineligible for consolidation with the next regularly scheduled election." In that case, election officials will have 30 days to verify signatures.

See law: California Code Division 11, Chapter 2

Filing a local recall petition

Once local recall petitions are submitted to the proper elections official, the relevant elections department must determine if enough raw signatures were submitted. If there are enough raw signatures, the petition will be deemed filed. If there are fewer than 500 signatures to verify, the elections department has 30 days to determine if there are enough valid signatures.

If there are more than 500 signatures to verify, the elections department has 60 days to determine if there are enough valid signatures, and the elections department can use random sampling techniques. However, if the elections department determines that a 60-day window "could cause the recall election to be ineligible for consolidation with the next regularly scheduled election," the process must be finished in 30 days instead of 60.

See law: California Code Division 11, Chapter 3

Recall election

The relevant governing body must call for an election within 14 days after the meeting at which the certificate of sufficiency for the recall petition was presented.

Once the recall has been certified for the ballot, the recall election must be scheduled to occur in 88 to 125 days unless there is a regularly scheduled election within 180 days. If there is a regularly scheduled election in that time frame, the recall election can be scheduled to consolidate with it.

Replacement candidates

For state-level offices, California uses a replacement question on the recall ballot to determine who will take office if a majority of voters cast ballots in favor of the recall. The official against whom the recall is sought cannot submit himself or herself as a possible replacement candidate.

Candidates filing for the replacement question must submit the standard nomination papers and a declaration of candidacy at least 59 days before the date of the recall election.

See law: California elections code Section 11381

Ballot language

On the election ballot the following question must be asked voters:

“

Shall [name of officer sought to be recalled] be recalled (removed) from the office of [title of office]?

”

For state-level offices, the ballot will also include a list of possible replacement candidates under the recall question. The list of candidates must include an empty space for voters to write in a candidate of their own.

See laws: California elections code Section 11242 & California elections code Section 11322

Election results

If a majority of electors vote yes on the recall question, the official in question will be removed from office. If a majority of electors vote no, the official will remain in office.

In the event of a successful state-level recall, the replacement candidate who received the most votes will serve the remainder of the recalled official's term. If no replacement candidate is nominated or qualifies for the position, the office will be vacant and filled according to the relevant laws governing vacancies.

In the event of a successful local-level recall, the office will become vacant and will be filled according to the laws that govern the vacancy of the office. Local offices include offices in "a city, county, school district, community college district, or special district, or a judge of a trial court."

See laws: California Code Division 11, Chapter 4, Article 4, Sections 11384 - 11386

History of California recall

2023: Recall changes signed into law

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a recall bill into law on October 13, 2023. The bill changed the amount of time election officials have to verify recall petition signatures. For state-level recalls, the number of days election officials have to verify signatures increased from 30 to 60 unless the California Secretary of State determines a 60-day verification window "could cause the recall election to be ineligible for consolidation with the next regularly scheduled election." In that case, election officials will have 30 days to verify signatures.

For local-level recall petitions with more than 500 signatures, the number of days also increased from 30 to 60. Local-level recalls also have the same caveat that the verification window must be 30 days if the recall election will become ineligible to consolidate with the next regularly scheduled election.

2022: Recall changes signed into law

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed two recall bills into law on September 30, 2022. AB 2582 removed the replacement question of recall elections for local offices. Instead, the offices of local officials who are successfully recalled will become vacant and will be filled according to the laws that govern the vacancy of the office. Local offices include offices in "a city, county, school district, community college district, or special district, or a judge of a trial court."

AB 2584 made multiple changes to the state's recall law, including:

• Increasing the number of signatures required on notices of intent to recall;
• Including the estimated cost of holding a special election for a recall on the petition;
• Requiring recall petitions to be available for public inspection and setting up a process for voters to seek a writ of mandate or injunction against the supporters' statement on the petition or the officer's response to the petition; and
• Allowing recall elections to be consolidated with regular elections scheduled within 180 days of the recall petition qualifying for the ballot.

Notable California recalls

2021 gubernatorial recall

See also: Gavin Newsom recall, Governor of California (2019-2021)

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) was retained in a recall election on September 14, 2021. Newsom was retained 61.9% to 38.1%. Roughly 12.8 million voters participated in the election. To see the results of the replacement candidate question, click here.

Voters had to decide two questions: whether Newsom should be recalled and, if so, who should replace him. A majority vote was required on the first question for the governor to be recalled. If Newsom had been recalled, the candidate with the most votes on the second question would have won the election, no majority required.

Forty-six candidates, including nine Democrats and 24 Republicans, ran in the election. Approximately 7.4 million voters selected a candidate on the second question. The five candidates to receive the most votes were: radio host Larry Elder (R) with 48.4%, YouTuber Kevin Paffrath (D) with 9.6%, former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer (R) with 8.0%, doctor Brandon Ross (D) with 5.3%, and 2018 gubernatorial candidate John Cox (R) with 4.1%. Eight other candidates received at least 1% of the vote.

Recall supporters said Newsom mishandled the state's response to the coronavirus pandemic, did not do enough to address the state's homelessness rate, and supported sanctuary city policies and water rationing. Newsom called the effort a "Republican recall — backed by the RNC, anti-mask and anti-vax extremists, and pro-Trump forces who want to overturn the last election and have opposed much of what we have done to fight the pandemic." Newsom was elected governor in 2018, defeating Cox 61.9% to 38.1%.

There have been 55 attempts to recall a governor since California adopted the process in 1911. The only successful effort was in 2003 when voters recalled then-Gov. Gray Davis (D). Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) was elected as Davis' replacement. In that election, 135 candidates ran and the winner received 48.6% of the vote.

2003 gubernatorial recall

Main article: Gray Davis recall (2003)

Possibly the most famous recall election in history took place in California in October 2003, when Governor Gray Davis was recalled and Arnold Schwarzenegger took his place. The event was widely publicized in the national media due to both California's size and importance, as well as the fact that many famous celebrities, such as Arnold Schwarzenegger himself, were running to replace Gray Davis.

Contact information

General Information - Elections Division
Secretary of State's Office
1500 11th Street, 5th Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 657-2166
Fax: (916) 653-3214
E-Mail: elections@sos.ca.gov

See also

• Laws governing recall
• States that have pre-petition signature requirements for recalls
• States that require grounds for recalls
• Recall campaigns in California
• California Proposition 183 (1994)

External links

Suggest a link

• Official Recall law in California (dead link)
• Wikipedia article on the 2003 recall of Gray Davis
• National Conference of State Legislatures, Statewide Recall
• California recall laws and history from Join California
• Review of California's recall laws from the Institute of Governmental Studies