Ballotpedia has tracked recall efforts against 57 officials in Michigan this year as of April 13, 2026, which was the most of any state and accounted for 30% of the 193 officials included in recall efforts. California had the second-most with 31 (16%), and Oregon ranked third with 30 (16%). Together, the three states accounted for 118 (61%) of the 193 officials tracked by Ballotpedia this year. Michigan had the highest number of officials targeted for recall in each year since 2022.
From 2010 to 2026, Michigan had the most officials included in recall efforts with 1,108, representing 19% of all recalls Ballotpedia has tracked as of April 13, 2026. California was second with 1,094 (18%), and Colorado ranked third with 404 (6.8%).
The map below shows the total number of officials targeted for recall in each state from 2010 to April 13, 2026.
A political recall is the process by which citizens can remove elected officials from office before their term is completed. This process typically includes the circulation of petitions by recall organizers, the evaluation of signatures by election officials, and a public vote if the petitions are deemed to have a sufficient number of valid signatures. The details of the recall process vary from state to state. Click here to learn about the laws governing recalls in each state.
From 2010 to 2025, Ballotpedia covered an average of 223 recall efforts against an average of 358 officials per year. Those recalls had a 17% success rate. The success rate was calculated by dividing the number of recalled officials by the number of officials who were targeted for recall. The highest success rate occurred in 2011 when 83 of the 308 officials targeted for recall were removed from office in a recall election, a success rate of 27%. The lowest success rate occurred in 2021 when 25 of the 545 officials targeted for recall were removed from office in a recall election, a success rate of 4.6%.
As of April 13, 2026, Ballotpedia has tracked 109 recall efforts against 193 officials. Eight officials targeted for recall had been removed from office in a recall election, a success rate of 4.1%. One official defeated a recall election to stay in office.
The chart below shows how many officials were included in recall efforts, how many defeated recall elections to stay in office, and how many were removed from office in recall elections from 2010 to mid-April 2026.
Ballotpedia has tracked recall efforts against 86 city council members this year as of April 13, 2026, which is the most of any office type and accounts for 45% of the 193 officials included in recall efforts. City council members also had the highest number of recall efforts started against them from 2010 to 2020 and 2022 to 2025. The exception was 2021 when school board members faced the most recall efforts.
Additional reading: