Recall Elections

Recall is a procedure allowing electors to remove and replace a public official before the end of a term of office.

Eighteen states permit recall of state officials (a nineteenth, Virginia, allows recall petitions but removal is by trial rather than by election). In addition, at least 29 states (some sources say 36) allow recall of local officials.

North Carolina has no recall provision for either state or local elected officials.

The U.S. Constitution has no recall provision for federal elected officials.

Most recall provisions were adopted early in the twentieth century, spurred by efforts of the Progressive Movement to introduce more direct democracy. Progressive Movement proposals consisted of a package, usually including the initiative (which allowed the public to initiate legislation), the referendum (which allowed the public to vote on adoption of legislation), and the recall.

As an indication of how widespread support for these measures was, in 1910 the State of Mississippi adopted a constitutional amendment providing for initiative, referendum and recall. In that case, it didn't take the Mississippi Supreme Court long to rule that the constitutional amendment itself was unconstitutional.

The Progressive Movement's package included some federal measures as well. The only proposed electoral measure actually implemented was direct election of senators, adopted by constitutional amendment in 1913.