Welcome to the Thursday, July 11, Brew.
By: Mercedes Yanora
Here’s what’s in store for you as you start your day:
- Voters have recalled more officials by mid-year than any other year since Ballotpedia began tracking this data in 2014
- Four Milwaukee Public Schools Board directors face recall effort following the state’s withholding of funds and scheduled audits
- Hawaii Gov. Josh Green signs bill requiring application to ERIC
Voters have recalled more officials by mid-year than any other year since Ballotpedia began tracking this data in 2014
Twice a year, Ballotpedia releases reports on recall efforts across the country for all state and local elected offices. Today, we explore the mid-year 2024 report!
From Jan. 1 through June 28, voters recalled more officials than any other year since we began tracking this data in 2014. These 38 recalled officials surpass the second-highest mid-year figure of 29 in 2016. As for the lowest number of recalled officials? That figure was nine in both 2015 and 2021.
There have also been more recall efforts through the first half of this year than in previous years. This year’s 164 recall efforts against 266 officials is slightly more than the previous high of 265 officials in 2016. The lowest number of recall efforts was 115 in 2019.
Mirroring 2023, city council officials faced more recall efforts than any other group by mid-year in 2024. This is in contrast to 2022 and 2021, when school board officials faced the most recall efforts by mid-year. So far this year, city council officials account for 41.4% of recall targets across all office types.
Two states—California and Michigan—led the way in officials targeted for recall with 57 each in the first half of this year. Out of the 24 other states that had recall efforts, Oregon had the next highest with 27.
When compared to averages from 2020-2023, three states saw significant jumps in the number of officials targeted by mid-year: Michigan (57 v. 42.3), Oregon (27 v. 6), and Texas (18 v. 4.3). Not all 50 states are included in this analysis, however, as only 39 states allow voters to recall certain state and local officials.
This isn’t the first time California and Michigan have led other states. In 2018, 2022, and 2023, Michigan had the most officials targeted for recall. California held the same distinction in 2016, 2017, 2019, and 2021.
Below are some stats on the 38 successful recalls:
- The overall success rate was 14.23%.
- Thirty-three successful recalls included municipal officeholders, with the most—15—at the city council level.
- Five successful recalls were of school board members.
- There were 12 successful recalls in Oregon, six each in California and Michigan, three each in Colorado and Texas, and one each in Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, Ohio, and Oklahoma.
- Of the 12 Oregon recalls: six officials were on city councils, three were mayors, and three were members of a rural fire protection board.
- Reasons for the recalls included: allegations of voting against constituents on infrastructure projects; allegations of failing to act in the best interest of wastewater treatment plant employees and residents; allegations of endangering residents by comprising time-critical fire and EMS services; and allegations of overstepping authority and consolidating power.
We will be publishing our year-end report in December. For now, feel free to explore our most recent year-end report: Ballotpedia’s 2023 Recall Analysis.
Four Milwaukee Public Schools Board directors face recall effort following the state’s withholding of funds and scheduled audits
Continuing our coverage of all things recall, let’s go to Wisconsin, where petitioners have initiated an effort to recall four of the nine members of the Milwaukee Public Schools Board of School Directors.
The recall effort targets District 1 representative Marva Herndon, District 2 representative Erika Siemsen, District 5 representative Jilly Gokalgandhi, and at-large representative Missy Zombor.
The effort began after the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction sent a letter to the school board and superintendent on June 6, informing them that the state was temporarily withholding the district’s June 2024 Special Education Aid payments, totaling $16,623,612. The state withheld the payments because the district was eight months behind on financial reporting. Click here to read the full letter. On June 10, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) called for two audits of the school district.
This isn’t the first time the district has faced an audit. Advisory tax and assurance firm Baker Tilly outlined multiple financial issues in a 2022 audit of the district. Click here to read the full outline.
Recall supporters cited the following violations as reasons for initiating the recall: violation of annual financial reporting requirements; abuse of power and negligence of elected leaders; and unethical and illegal financial activity.
The targeted directors said they understood everyone’s frustration, respected the recall process, and were working to resolve the financial issues.
To get the recall on the ballot, supporters must collect signatures equal to 25% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election in the relevant jurisdiction. Signatures must be collected within 60 days and are due Aug. 13.
The following number of signatures are required for each recall to make the ballot:
- Recall against Herndon: 5,137
- Recall against Siemsen: 6,809
- Recall against Gokalgandhi: 7,759
- Recall against Zombor: 44,177
Zombor’s recall requires significantly more signatures because she represents the at-large district.
At the time the recall paperwork was filed, Herndon was serving as president of the board and Gokalgandhi as vice president. Voters first elected Herndon and Siemsen to the board in 2019, Gokalgandhi in 2021, and Zombor in 2023.
Ballotpedia has tracked 32 school board recall efforts against 67 board members in 2024. Recall elections against six of those board members are scheduled for July 2, Aug. 27, and Nov. 5. Results from the July 2 recall have not yet been certified because it is a mail-in ballot race. Earlier recall elections this year removed five members from office and retained five members in office.
The chart below details the status of 2024 recall efforts by individual school board member.
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green signs bill requiring application to ERIC
On July 5, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green (D) signed Senate Bill 2240, which requires the state’s Office of Elections to submit an application to join the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). The bill passed the Hawaii House of Representatives and Senate unanimously on April 24. Hawaii is one of three Democratic trifectas that is not a member of ERIC.
States that join ERIC agree to share their voter registration and motor vehicle department identification data every 60 days to identify and reconcile voters that have moved states, duplicate entries, eligible but unregistered voters, and deceased voters.
As of July 2024, 24 states and the District of Columbia (D.C.) were members of ERIC. Chief election officials from Colorado, Delaware, Maryland, Nevada, Utah, Virginia, and Washington founded ERIC, a multi-state voter list maintenance compact, in 2012. At its height in 2022, 33 states and D.C. were members.
Beginning in 2022, nine states withdrew from ERIC. Election officials in these states named concerns about protection of personal data, partisanship, and strategic disagreements as reasons for their resignations. In all nine states, Republican election officials or Republican-controlled legislatures required resignation from ERIC. To read more about these resignations, see here.
Senate Bill 2240 requires Hawaii to apply to join ERIC by June 30, 2025. Hawaii would become the first state to join ERIC since the series of resignations, barring another state joining before June 2025 or ERIC’s rejection of Hawaii’s application.
Similar bills have passed one chamber of the legislature in California and New York, while Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) vetoed another bill earlier this year.
For more about arguments in support and opposing states’ membership in ERIC, see here.
Keep reading