Ballotpedia's Mid-Year Recall Report (2021)

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Recall elections in 2021: Mid-year report
Statistics
263 targeted officials 165 recall efforts
Notable recalls
Gavin Newsom recall, Governor of California Arizona House of Representatives Los Angeles County District Attorney San Francisco District Attorney Loudoun County Public Schools, Virginia

June 14, 2021 (updated September 17, 2024)
By Ballotpedia staff

In the first half of 2021, Ballotpedia tracked 165 recall efforts against 263 officials. This was the most recall efforts for this point in the year since the first half of 2016, when we tracked 189 recall efforts against 265 officials. In comparison, we tracked between 72 and 155 efforts by the midpoints of 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020.

Last year, Ballotpedia began tracking recalls related to the coronavirus and government responses to it. As of this report's publication, 78 such recall efforts had been tracked throughout 2020 and 2021. Click here for the full list.

For the first time since 2015, school board members drew more recall petitions than any other group. A total of 48% of officials who faced recall campaigns in the first half of 2021 were school board members. City council members—the officials who drew the most efforts from 2016 to 2020—accounted for 25% of officials. Between June 2016 and June 2020, school board members accounted for 15% to 27% of officials named in recall efforts.

For the fifth time in the past six years, California had the most officials facing recall elections of any state with 78. However, Alaska had the most recalls per 100,000 residents with 0.68. By that metric, California had the 10th-most recalls with 0.11 per 100,000 residents.

Notable recalls across the first half of 2021 included the following:

• California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) faced a recall that was still underway at the time of this report. The California Secretary of State has until June 22, 2021, to verify that enough signatures remain on petitions to move the recall forward. Recall supporters criticized Newsom's handling of the coronavirus pandemic and homelessness in the state as well as his support for sanctuary city policies and water rationing. Newsom stated that the recall was a "Republican recall — backed by the RNC, anti-mask and anti-vax extremists, and pro-Trump forces."
• Arizona Rep. Mark Finchem (R) faced two recalls that were in the signature-gathering phase at the time of this report. The efforts claim Finchem spread voter fraud conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential race and was involved in the January 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol. Finchem acknowledged that he attended the "Stop the Steal" rally that preceded the breach of the U.S. Capitol but denied that he participated in the violence.
• George Gascón, district attorney for Los Angeles County, California, faced a recall effort in the signature-gathering phase at the time of this report. The recall effort started in reaction to new policies he implemented after winning election to the office on November 3, 2020.
• Another California district attorney, Chesa Boudin in San Francisco, faced two recall efforts in the signature-gathering phase at the time of this report. Supporters of both recalls alleged that Boudin's approach had led to increased crime rates. Boudin argued that he was reforming the criminal justice system and that the recalls were politically motivated.
• In the Loudoun County school district in Virginia, an effort was collecting signatures to recall six of the nine members of the school board at the time of this report. Recall supporters alleged that the district was using Critical Race Theory in its employee training and student curriculum. The district denied the allegation.

Statistics

Ballotpedia covers recall efforts across the country for all state and local elected offices.

From January 1 through June 9, 2021, Ballotpedia covered 165 recall efforts against 263 officials. Nine officials were successfully removed from office via a recall election. Six officials resigned after recall efforts were started against them, 12 were put on the ballot but defeated the recall to stay in office, and the recall efforts targeting 77 officials failed to make the ballot. Recall elections for another nine officials have been scheduled but not held as of this report's publication, and 150 officials face recall efforts that remain underway but that have not made the ballot yet.

The chart below compares how many officials were included in recall efforts as well as how many were removed from office in recall elections in 2021 through June 9 with the same counts from prior years. Based on data from the past five years, an average of 58% of each year's total recall efforts were initiated by the midpoint of the year. If the pace in prior years holds, we project that 2021 would see 427 officials included in recall efforts by the end of the year, which would mean 2021 had 42% more officials targeted than 2020, 83% more than 2019, and 40% more than 2018. It would outpace the number of officials named in recall efforts in 2014, which had the most recall efforts of any year since Ballotpedia began tracking them in 2010.

School board members drew more recall petitions than any other group in the first half of 2021. A total of 126 school board members faced recall campaigns, while city council members faced the second-most with 67. City council members drew the most recall petitions from 2016 to 2020. Recalls were also sought for 23 mayors and vice mayors. In state government, 11 state executives and five state legislators faced recall efforts. A breakdown of the various recall targets is displayed in the chart below:

Targets by state

Ballotpedia covered a total of 165 recall efforts against 263 officials in 24 states. California led the way in officials targeted for recall with 78 through June 9, 2021. Arizona and Washington followed with 32 and 20 officials facing recall respectively. From 2016 to 2020, California had the most officials targeted in four of the five years. To view the number of recall targets in a particular state, hover your mouse cursor over that state below:

When adjusted for state population using the U.S. Census Bureau's April 2020 population estimates, Alaska emerges as the recall leader with 0.68 recalls per 100,000 residents. It is followed by Nebraska (0.41 recalls per 100,000 residents) and Idaho (0.33 recalls per 100,000 residents). From 2017 to 2020, Idaho led the country in the number of recalls per 100,000 residents in three of the four years. In 2017, Alaska also had the most recalls per 100,000 residents.

Notable recalls

Gavin Newsom recall, Governor of California

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

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D)

An effort to recall California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) was initiated on June 10, 2020. Organizers turned in 1,719,943 valid signatures, exceeding the 1,495,709 required to trigger a recall election. Voters who signed the petition had until June 8 to request removal from the petition, and the California Secretary of State has until June 22 to verify that enough signatures remain to move the recall forward. At that point, if there are still enough signatures to meet the requirement, the recall election will be certified and proceed to a budgeting and scheduling phase. Based on the remaining procedural steps required by state law, a recall election would likely take place in October or November 2021.

Orrin Heatlie, who worked in the Yolo County Sheriff's Office for 25 years, filed the recall petition against Newsom. The other board members of Recall Gavin Newsom include Mike Netter, a former executive at Corporate Express and Staples, and Robin McCrea, a former budget analyst at California State University, Chico. 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. In a March 2021 email, 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." This recall effort is the fifth in a series of six recall petitions filed against Newsom since 2019. The other five recall campaigns were inactive as of February 3, 2021.

Newsom was elected as California's governor in 2018 with 61.9% of the vote. Since 1911, there have been 55 attempts to recall a sitting California governor. The only successful recall campaign was in 2003 when voters recalled then-Gov. Gray Davis (D). Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) was chosen as Davis' replacement.

A recall election would present voters with two questions. The first would ask whether Newsom should be recalled from the office of governor. The second would ask who should succeed Newsom if he is recalled. A majority vote is required on the first question for the governor to be recalled. The candidate with the most votes on the second question would win the election with no majority required. In the 2003 recall of Davis, 135 candidates ran and the winner received 48.6% of the vote.

As of June 2, 2021, 51 individuals had announced campaigns if the recall goes to the ballot. Among those are former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer (R), 2018 gubernatorial candidate John Cox (R), former U.S. Rep. Doug Ose (R), and Caitlyn Jenner (R).

Mark Finchem recall, Arizona House of Representatives

See also: Mark Finchem recall, Arizona House of Representatives (2021)

State Rep. Mark Finchem (R)

Two efforts to recall state Rep. Mark Finchem (R) from the Arizona House of Representatives have been approved for circulation. Both recall efforts are being organized by Rural Arizonans for Accountability. The first recall petition was approved for circulation on March 4, 2021, and the second was approved for circulation on March 10, 2021. Supporters of each recall must collect 24,775 signatures in 120 days to get the recall on the ballot.

The recall efforts accuse Finchem of spreading voter fraud conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential race and claim he was involved in the January 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol. Finchem acknowledged that he attended the "Stop the Steal" rally that preceded the breach of the U.S. Capitol, but denied that he participated in the violence. Eighty-two ethics complaints were filed against Finchem, but they were all dismissed by the state House Ethics Committee and Chairwoman Becky Nutt (R).

In May 2021, Finchem sent a cease and desist order to the campaign behind the recall efforts. According to the Recall Finchem website, the order "demands Rural Arizonans for Accountability destroy all campaign materials Finchem incorrectly deems 'defamatory' and publish retractions in local newspapers. If not, Finchem's lawyers promise to sue."

Finchem was elected to the state House in 2014. He was re-elected in 2020 with 34.4% of the vote; the district has two seats and can be won with a plurality of the vote. He filed to run in the 2022 election for Arizona Secretary of State in March 2021.

George Gascón recall, Los Angeles County District Attorney

See also: George Gascón recall, Los Angeles County, California (2021)

District Attorney George Gascón

An effort to recall George Gascón from his position as the Los Angeles County District Attorney in California began in March 2021. To get the recall on the ballot, supporters must collect 579,062 signatures from registered voters in the county by October 27, 2021.

The notice of intent to recall claims Gascón abandoned crime victims and their families, disregarded the rule of law, weakened sentencing requirements for violent crimes, and reduced sentences on hate, gun, and gang crimes. Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, former Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley, former Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich, and former Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine announced their support of the recall. As of June 3, 2021, 17 cities in Los Angeles County had passed votes of no confidence in Gascón.

Gascón told KTLA 5 in June 2021:

“

The reality is crime has been going up, in fact, in L.A. County we had a 25% increase in violent crime over the last seven years because we continue to do the same things over and over again, expecting different results [...] What I am doing is, I am revamping the way that we address violence by using science, using data, taking a public health lens approach with the way that we deal with crime.

”

Gascón was elected to a four-year term in the nonpartisan general election on November 3, 2020, defeating incumbent Jackie Lacey with 53.5% of the vote.

Chesa Boudin recall, San Francisco District Attorney

See also: Chesa Boudin recall, San Francisco, California (2021)

District Attorney Chesa Boudin

Two efforts in San Francisco, California, to recall District Attorney Chesa Boudin are currently in the signature-gathering phase. The first recall effort, organized by The Committee Supporting the Recall of District Attorney Chesa Boudin, was approved for circulation on March 4, 2021. Recall organizers have until August 11, 2021, to submit at least 51,325 valid signatures to put the recall election on the ballot.

A second recall effort was started on April 28, 2021, by a group called San Franciscans for Public Safety. Petitioners have until October 25, 2021, to gather the same number of signatures in order to move the recall forward.

Supporters of both recalls allege that Boudin's approach has led to increased crime rates. The first recall effort was started by Richie Greenberg, who previously ran for mayor as a Republican. The second recall effort is led by a pair of Democratic activists who are "seeking to prevent the recall effort against District Attorney Chesa Boudin from being framed as a conservative power grab," according to The San Francisco Examiner.

Boudin has argued that he is reforming the criminal justice system and the recalls are politically motivated. Both statements of defense provided by Boudin said reform is needed because, "the old approaches did not make us safer; they ignored root causes of crime and perpetuated mass incarceration."

Boudin was elected to a four-year term as district attorney in 2019. He received 50.8% of the vote in the final round of ranked-choice voting in that election.

Loudoun County Public Schools recall, Virginia

See also: Loudoun County Public Schools recall, Virginia (2021)

An effort to recall six of the nine members of the Loudoun County Public Schools school board in Virginia began in May 2021. At-large representative Denise Corbo, Algonkian District representative Atoosa Reaser, Blue Ridge District representative Ian Serotkin, Broad Run District representative Leslee King, Leesburg District representative Beth Barts, and Sterling District representative Brenda Sheridan were named in the recall petitions.

The recall effort is sponsored by the Fight For Schools political action committee (PAC). Fight For Schools is led by Ian Prior, who previously worked for the U.S. Department of Justice under the Trump administration and for the National Republican Congressional Committee. Fight For Schools alleged that the district was using Critical Race Theory in its employee training and student curriculum. "This divisive experiment has resulted in attempts to silence dissent, it has divided the community, and created a culture of bullying in students, teachers, school administrators, and school board members," Fight For Schools said on its website.

Interim Superintendent Scott Ziegler said the district uses a Culturally Responsive Framework that “speaks to providing a welcoming, affirming environment and developing cultural competence through culturally responsive instruction, deeper learning, equitable classroom practices and social-emotional needs for a focus on the whole child.” He said the district did not use Critical Race Theory in its staff training or student curriculum. All six members are supported by the Loudoun County Democratic Committee.

Virginia requires recall petitions to be signed by residents of the official's jurisdiction equal in number to 10% of the votes cast in the last election for that office. The number of signatures required on each petition is between 803 for Sheridan and 10,785 for Corbo. If enough signatures are collected, a trial will be held at the circuit court level. At the trial, recall supporters must "demonstrate the officer engaged in neglect of duty, misuse of office, or incompetence in the performance," according to Loudoun Now.

Corbo, Reaser, Serotkin, King, and Barts were first elected to four-year terms on the board on November 5, 2019. Sheridan was re-elected to the board in the same election. She assumed office in 2011.

See also

• Recall overview
• Political recall efforts
• Political recall efforts, 2021
• Laws governing recall
• Ballotpedia's 2020 Recall Analysis
• Ballotpedia's Mid-Year Recall Report (2020)