Changes

A '''recall election''' is an [[election]] called in the middle of an elected official's term of office when a sufficient proportion of the electorate deems it intolerable or inappropriate to allow that official to complete his term.  Its use is rare, and usually confined to local offices such as school boards and city councils.

A '''recall election''' is an [[election]] called in the middle of an elected official's term of office when a sufficient proportion of the electorate deems it intolerable or inappropriate to allow that official to complete his term.  Its use is rare, and usually confined to local offices such as school boards and city councils.

Eighteen states, mostly in the western [[United States]], provide, in their laws, for the mid-term recall of state-level elected officials.<ref name=ncsl>"[http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=16581 Entry for Recall Election]," National Conference of State Legislatures, accessed 14 January 2010.</ref> Federal law does not provide for the popular recall of a [[President of the United States]], but the various State-level recall laws often provide for the recall, not only of State officials but also of their [[United States Senate|Senators]] and [[United States House of Representatives|Representatives]] in [[United States Congress|Congress]]. (To date no Senator or Representative has been recalled mid-term from his office, but a case is now pending in [[New Jersey]] to test the proposition that a State may recall its Senator.<ref name=examiner>Hurlbut T, "[http://www.examiner.com/x-28973-Essex-County-Conservative-Examiner~y2010m1d14-NJ-elections-division-says-Menendez-recall-illegal NJ elections division says Menendez recall illegal]," ''Essex County Conservative Examiner'', <http://www.examiner.com/Newark>, 14 January 2010</ref>)

Eighteen states, mostly in the western [[United States]], provide, in their laws, for the mid-term recall of U.S. Senators and other elected officials:<ref name=ncsl>"[http://www.ncsl.org/default.aspx?tabid=16581 Entry for Recall Election]," National Conference of State Legislatures, accessed 14 January 2010.</ref>   Seven of these states require specific grounds for a recall: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington and Wisconsin.

 

Federal law does not provide for the popular recall of a [[President of the United States]], but the various State-level recall laws often provide for the recall, not only of State officials but also of their [[United States Senate|Senators]] and [[United States House of Representatives|Representatives]] in [[United States Congress|Congress]]. (To date no Senator or Representative has been recalled mid-term from his office, but a case is now pending in [[New Jersey]] to test the proposition that a State may recall its Senator.<ref name=examiner>Hurlbut T, "[http://www.examiner.com/x-28973-Essex-County-Conservative-Examiner~y2010m1d14-NJ-elections-division-says-Menendez-recall-illegal NJ elections division says Menendez recall illegal]," ''Essex County Conservative Examiner'', <http://www.examiner.com/Newark>, 14 January 2010</ref>)

[[File:Recall.jpg|thumb|175px|Republican [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] replaced California's governor Gray Davis, a Democrat, at a recall election in 2003.]]

[[File:Recall.jpg|thumb|175px|Republican [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] replaced California's governor Gray Davis, a Democrat, at a recall election in 2003.]]