Recall Information

Steps to Recall an Official

1. Submission of Language

Sponsors of a recall effort submit petition language to the Board of County Election Commissioners. Typically this is done through the County Clerk of the county where the officeholder resides. The language can be 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.

2. 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 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)).

3. Preparation and Circulation of Recall Petitions, Campaign Finance Requirements

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.

Forming a Political Committee
Sponsors of a recall that receive or spend $500.00 or more in a calendar year are required to form a Political Committee and file all appropriate campaign finance reports. All Campaign Finance reports are filed with the County Clerk.

The Petition Form
Recall petitions must conform to the specifications prescribed by the Secretary of State (168.952a). A separate petition must be circulated for each officer whose recall is sought (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
Recall petitions are circulated within the district represented by the officer whose recall is sought (168.954).  Before a recall petition can be circulated, the circulator must complete the "heading" of each petition sheet by filling in the following:

1. the county and city or township where the sheet will be circulated, or

2. the village where the sheet will be circulated.

      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.)

      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).

      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
Signers of recall petitions must be registered to vote in the electoral district of the official whose recall is sought. Each signer must list his or her signature, address, zip code 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).

All signatures must be signed in the presence of the circulator (168.957).

A signer is not permitted to sign for anyone else. For example: a wife may not sign for her husband (168.957).

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. The County Clerk can provide this number.

Signatures on a recall petition dated more than 90 days before the filing of the petition are invalid (168.961).

4. Submission of Petitions

Petitions for recall are filed with the County Clerk. All Petitions must be filed at the same time. Once filed, the Clerk has 7 days to determine if the recall petition is in proper form and shall determine the number of signatures on the petition (168.961). Final Certification must be made within 35 days after the filing of the recall petition (169.962).

Challenging the Petitions
Within 30 days after the filing of the petition the officer whose recall is sought may challenge the validity of signatures (168.961a).

5. Recall Election

In an instance where a recall petition is determined sufficient, the county clerk is required to schedule a special recall election on the next regular election date that is not less than 95 days after the recall petition is filed (MCL 168.963(2) as amended under PA 302 of 2003).