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OFFICERS SUBJECT TO RECALL
All elective officers in the state, except
judicial officers, are subject to recall by the voters of their respective
districts. An officer who is being recalled may continue to perform the
duties of his or her office until the result of the recall election is
certified (168.951).
TIME OF FILING
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A recall petition cannot be filed
until the officer whose recall is sought has served at least six months
in his or her current term of office. It maybe necessary for the county
clerk to check state and local statutes to determine the exact date when
the officer's current term began.
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A recall petition cannot be filed
during the last six months of an officer's term of office (168.951).
SPONSOR OF RECALL WORDING
CLARITY REVIEW
County Election Commissioners are required
to review the language of a recall petition before the petition is
circulated.
Submission of Language
Sponsors of a recall effort submit language of their petition to the
Board of Election Commissioners in the county where the officeholder resides
(168.952(2). The Board is comprised of the county clerk, county treasurer
and chief judge of probate (168.23). Under normal circumstances, the
language is submitted to the county clerk in a letter or on the proposed
recall petition form. A separate submission must be made for each officer
whose recall is sought. The county clerk accepting the petition language
issues a receipt to the sponsor of the language, which shows the sponsor's
name, address, phone number, and the date of the filing. The county clerk
retains a copy of the receipt for the Board's records.
Scheduling Clarity Review
The Board is required to meet sometime between the 10th and 20th day
after the filing of the recall language to conduct the clarity hearing.
When the required meeting is held, the
function of the Board is TO DETERMINE WHETHER EACH REASON FOR THE RECALL
STATED IN THE PETITION IS OR IS NOT OF SUFFICIENT CLARITY TO ENABLE THE
OFFICER WHOSE RECALL IS SOUGHT AND THE ELECTORS TO IDENTIFY THE COURSE OF
CONDUCT WHICH IS THE BASIS FOR THE RECALL. The officer whose recall is
sought and the sponsors of the petition may appear at the meeting and
present arguments on the clarity of the petition language (168.952(3).
Clarity Determination
It is important to emphasize that only the clarity of the recall
language is subject to review by the Board; the Board does not have the
authority to rule on the reasons for the recall 168.952(3).
PREPARATION AND CIRCULATION OF RECALL PETITIONS
As soon as the sponsors of a recall effort
have the clarity of their petition language approved by the appropriate
Board of County Election Commissioners, they are free to circulate their
petition.
The Petition Form
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Recall petitions must conform to the
specifications prescribed by the Secretary of State (168.952a).
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A separate petition must be circulated
for each officer who is being recalled (168.958a). Recall language
printed on the recall petitions that are circulated must be the same
language approved by the Board of County Election Commissioners
(168.952(2). Circulation of Recall Petitions
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Recall petitions are circulated within
the district represented by the officer whose recall is sought
(168.954).
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Circulators of recall petitions must
be registered to vote in the electoral district of the official whose
recall is sought (168.954).
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Before a recall petition can be
circulated, the circulator must complete the "heading" of each
petition sheet by filling in the following:
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1. the county and city or township
where the sheet will be circulated, or
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2. the village where the sheet
will be circulated
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The sheet may not be circulated
outside of the jurisdiction listed in the sheet heading. (NOTE: recall
petitions may not be circulated on a "countywide" basis.)
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The circulator may not leave a recall
petition unattended in a public place; all signatures must be signed in
the presence of the circulator (168.957).
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The circulator must complete and date
the certificate on the bottom of the petition sheet after gathering the
last signature he or she intends to collect on the sheet. Signatures on
a sheet, which are dated after the date on the circulator's certificate,
are not counted (168.958).
Signers of Recall Petitions
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Signers of recall petitions must be
registered to vote in the electoral district of the official whose
recall is sought.
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Each signer must list his or her
signature, address, post office and the date of signing. If the recall
petition is circulated within a city or school district that crosses
county lines, each signer must be instructed to execute his or her
signature on a petition sheet bearing the name of his or her county of
residence in the heading (168.954).
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All signatures must be signed in the
presence of the circulator (168.957).
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A signer is not permitted to sign for
anyone else. For example: a wife may not sign for her husband (168.957).
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Number of Signatures Needed; Signature
"Ripeness"
The number of signatures needed to recall
an officer is 25% of the votes cast in the officer's district for all
candidates for the office of Governor at the last November general election.
Upon written request, the county clerk is required to supply the minimum
number of valid signatures needed to recall an officeholder. The figure must
be calculated and delivered to the requester within 5 days after the county
clerk's receipt of the request. (If the 5th day falls on a Saturday, Sunday
or holiday, the county clerk has until the following business day to honor
the request.) (168.955)
Signatures on a recall petition dated more
than 90 days before the filing of the petition are invalid (168.961).
Petition language is valid for a period of 180 days from the date of Board
approval.
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