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Megan Feeney

Megan Feeney is a staff writer at Ballotpedia. Contact us at editor@ballotpedia.org.

2022 sees second-highest level of recall activity since Ballotpedia began tracking

In 2022, Ballotpedia tracked 247 recall efforts against 414 officials. This is the second-highest number of recall efforts since Ballotpedia began tracking this statistic in 2014. Only 2021 had more recall activity—with 357 recall efforts against 545 officials.

Michigan was the state with the most officials facing recall efforts for the second time since Ballotpedia began tracking this figure. Michigan saw 125 officials subject to a recall campaign, surpassing California, which had 68 officials subject to recall. From 2016 to 2021, California had the most officials subject to recall in five of the six years.

City council members drew more recall petitions than any other type of officeholder in 2022. City council members took the top spot from 2016 until 2021, when school board members were most likely to face a recall campaign.

Since 2020, Ballotpedia has tracked recalls related to government responses to the pandemic. Ballotpedia identified 34 such campaigns this year, or about 14% of recall efforts. This represents a decline from 2020 and 2021, when 37% of the recall efforts Ballotpedia tracked were related to the pandemic.

Notable recalls across 2022 included the following:

  • An effort to recall George Gascón from his position as the Los Angeles County District Attorney did not qualify for the ballot, after organizers fell short of submitting the 566,857 signatures that were required for an election to be scheduled. Recall supporters criticized Gascón for his policies towards recidivist violent offenders and reduced sentences for committers of certain violent crimes.
  • Recall organizers filed a notice of intent to recall Los Angeles City Councilman Kevin de León in October 2022. The petition cited de León’s participation in an October 2021 meeting in which, according to organizers, de León made racist comments about Councilman Mike Bonin’s son. De León apologized for his participation in the meeting but said he would not resign.
  • Organizers initiated an attempt to recall Colorado state Sen. Kevin Priola (D), after he switched his party affiliation from Republican to Democratic in August 2022. Proponents of the recall effort criticized Priola over his support of a gas tax and legislation that would provide safe injection sites for drug users. They did not mention the party switch in the recall petition.
  • An effort to recall three of the seven members of the Salem-Keizer Public Schools school board in Oregon did not qualify for the ballot after organizers did not turn in the required number of signatures by the November 2022 deadline. The effort began after the school board voted 4-3 to approve a resolution prohibiting concealed guns on school property.

    Editor’s note: a previous version of this story erroneously reported that Michigan saw 123 officials subject to a recall campaign. It has been corrected to reflect that 125 officials in Michigan were subject to a recall campaign.



Ballotpedia’s mid-year recall report shows sustained interest in school board recall

In the first half of 2022, Ballotpedia tracked 152 recall efforts against 240 officials. These figures represent a small decline from 2021, when we tallied 165 recall efforts against 263 officials by midyear. In comparison, the highest number of recall efforts we have tracked by midyear was 189 in 2016. The lowest was 72 in 2019.

For the second year in a row, school board members drew more recall petitions than any other group. One-third of officials who faced recall campaigns in the first half of 2022 were school board members. City council members—the officials who drew the most efforts from 2016 to 2020—accounted for 32% of officials targeted for recall in 2022. 

For the first time since Ballotpedia started tracking this statistic in 2015, Michigan was the state with the most officials facing recall efforts in the first half of the year. Michigan saw 70 officials subject to a recall campaign, surpassing California, which had the most officials targeted for recall midway through the year from 2015 through 2021. 

In 2020, Ballotpedia began following recalls related to coronavirus and government responses to it. We have tallied 245 such efforts since 2020, including 27 efforts against 66 officials in the first half of 2022.

In this report, Ballotpedia also highlighted five noteworthy recall campaigns: the effort against Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D), the effort against San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin (D), the effort against County Commissioner William Bunek (R) in Leelanau County, Michigan, and the efforts against members of the San Francisco school board in California and the Newberg school board in Oregon.

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Seven Oklahoma school districts hold primaries on February 8

Eight school board seats in seven Oklahoma school districts covered by Ballotpedia were up for nonpartisan primary elections on Feb. 8, 2022. Candidates competed to advance to the general election scheduled for Apr. 5.

The districts holding primaries included Broken Arrow, Catoosa, Edmond, Mustang, Piedmont, Tulsa, and Union Public Schools. 

Three candidates won the election outright on Feb. 8 by earning more than 50% of the vote in the primary. Katie Cornman, Stefan Swaggerty, and Debbie Taylor won a seat on the board for Piedmont, Catoosa, and Broken Arrow Public Schools, respectively. Candidates advanced to the general election for the remaining five seats.

  1. In the Edmond Public School District, Courtney Hobgood and Cheryl Williams advanced to the general election for the District 2 seat. Incumbent Marcus Jones and Michael Grande advanced to the general in the special election for District 5.
  2. Robert Rader and Audra Tucker advanced to the general election for Seat 2 on the Mustang Public Schools Board of Education.
  3. Incumbent Chris McNeil and challenger Shelley Gwartney advanced to the general election for Union Public Schools Board of Education Zone 2.
  4. In the Tulsa Public School District, Susan Lamkin and Tim Harris advanced to the general election for the District 7 seat.

Primaries in 19 other school districts covered by Ballotpedia were canceled after fewer than three candidates filed to run for each seat up for election. Twenty out of the 28 Oklahoma school board races covered by Ballotpedia this year, which represents 71% of these races, were not competitive enough to include a primary. In 2021, primaries were canceled in 30 out of 35 races (86%). In 2020, 24 out of 30 races (80%) had canceled primaries.

The 26 Oklahoma school boards covered by Ballotpedia served a total of 267,432 students during the 2017-2018 school year.

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Number of recall efforts soars to highest level since 2012

Ballotpedia tracked more recall efforts this year than any other year since we started compiling data on recalls in 2012. We identified 529 officials targeted for recall in 2021, compared to 301 in 2020 and 233 in 2019. The year with the second-most recalls was 2014 with 387 officials targeted for recall.

Despite the increase in recall efforts, there were fewer officials successfully removed from office in 2021 than any other year since 2012. Twenty-five recall efforts were successful in 2021, compared to 35 in 2020 and 38 in 2019. Meanwhile, 42 recalls were defeated in 2021, and 342 recalls did not qualify for the ballot.

For the first time since Ballotpedia began tracking, school board members drew more recall petitions than any other type of office. A total of 233 school board members faced recall campaigns, while city council members faced the second-most with 148. City council members drew the most recall petitions from 2014 to 2020. 

California led the way in officials targeted for recall with 129 in 2021. Arizona and Michigan followed with 51 officials each. From 2016 to 2020, California had the most officials targeted in four of the five years. When the number of recalls is adjusted for state population, Nebraska emerges as the recall leader in 2021 with 1.33 officials included in recall efforts per 100,000 residents. 

Ballotpedia closely followed several notable recalls in 2021. These include the recall election for California Governor Gavin Newsom (D), two recall efforts against San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin, and the recall election for Seattle City Councilmember Kshama Sawant. Our year-end report also highlights school board recalls in the Loudon County Public School District in Virginia, the Mequon-Thiensville School District in Wisconsin, and the San Francisco Unified School District in California.



Filing deadline approaches for two California State Assembly special elections

Candidates interested in running in special elections for California State Assembly Districts 17 and 49 have until Dec. 22 to file. The primary election for both races is scheduled for Feb. 15, and the general election is set for April 19.

California uses a top-two primary system, in which all candidates are listed on the same primary ballot. A candidate can win the special election outright by earning more than 50% of the vote in the primary. Otherwise, the top two vote-getters, regardless of their partisan affiliations, advance to the general election.

The special election in District 17 became necessary after David Chiu (D) was appointed as San Francisco City Attorney and was sworn in on Nov. 1. Chiu served from 2014 to 2021. Meanwhile, in District 49, the election was called after Edwin Chau (D) was appointed to the Superior Court of Los Angeles County and resigned on Dec. 10. Chau served from 2012 to 2021.

California has a Democratic trifecta, meaning that the Democratic Party controls the office of governor and both chambers of the state legislature. Democrats have a 58 to 19 majority in the state Assembly with one independent member and two vacancies.

As of December 2021, 15 state legislative special elections have been scheduled for 2022 in nine states. Between 2011 and 2020, an average of 75 special elections took place each year. California held 32 special elections from 2010 to 2020.



Jodi Nelson (R) defeats Mary Eisner (D) in New Hampshire House special election

A special general election was held for the Rockingham 6 District of the New Hampshire House of Representatives on Dec. 7. Jodi Nelson (R) defeated Mary Eisner (D), earning 58.8% of the vote to Eisner’s 41.2%.

Nelson earned 77.7% of the vote in the Republican primary held on Oct. 19, defeating Neil Wetherbee and Thomas Cardon. Eisner was unopposed in the Democratic primary.

The special election was called after Anne Copp (R) left office on Aug. 5 in order to move out of the district. Copp served from 2020 to 2021. She previously represented Merrimack 1 in the state House from 2016 to 2018.

As of December 2021, 66 state legislative special elections have been scheduled for 2021 in 21 states. Between 2011 and 2020, an average of 75 special elections took place each year. New Hampshire held 29 special elections from 2010 to 2020.

New Hampshire has a Republican trifecta, meaning that the Republican Party controls the office of governor and both chambers of the state legislature. Republicans have a 206-188 majority in the state House with six vacancies.

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Special general election to be held Dec. 7 for New Hampshire House of Representatives Rockingham 6

The special general election for the Rockingham 6 District in the New Hampshire House of Representatives is on Dec. 7. Mary Eisner (D) and Jodi Nelson (R) are competing in the special election. 

Nelson advanced from the Republican primary on Oct. 19, earning 78% of the vote. Eisner was unopposed in the Democratic primary. The filing deadline to run passed Aug. 27.

The special election was called after Anne Copp (R) resigned on Aug. 5 in order to move out of the district. Copp represented Rockingham 6 in the state House from 2020 to 2021. She represented the Merrimack 1 District from 2016 to 2018.

As of December 2021, 66 state legislative special elections have been scheduled for 2021 in 21 states. Between 2011 and 2020, an average of 75 special elections took place each year. New Hampshire held 29 special elections from 2010 to 2020.

New Hampshire has a Republican trifecta, meaning that the Republican Party controls the office of governor and both chambers of the state legislature. In the state House, Republicans have a 206-188 majority with six vacancies.



Hickman defeats Duong in Mississippi state Senate special runoff election

A special general runoff election was held for Mississippi state Senate District 32 on Nov. 23. Rod Hickman earned 59.8% of the vote, defeating Minh Duong, who earned 40.3%

State legislative special elections are nonpartisan in Mississippi, meaning that candidates’ party affiliations do not appear on the ballot. 

Hickman and Duong had advanced from the general election held on Nov. 2, where they were the top two finishers, defeating seven other candidates. A runoff was necessary because no one earned a majority of the vote during the general election.

The special election was called after Sampson Jackson (D) resigned on June 30. Jackson served from 1992 to 2021.

As of November 2021, 66 state legislative special elections have been scheduled for 2021 in 21 states. Between 2011 and 2020, an average of 75 special elections took place each year. Mississippi held 42 special elections from 2010 to 2020.

Mississippi is a Republican state government trifecta, meaning that the Republican Party controls the office of governor and both chambers of the state legislature. Republicans control the state Senate by a margin of 36 to 15, with one vacancy.



Filing deadline approaches for South Carolina State Senate special election

Candidates interested in running in the special election for South Carolina State Senate District 31 have until Dec. 11 to file. A primary election is scheduled for Jan. 25, and the general election is set for Mar. 29. If no candidate earns a majority of the vote in the primary, a primary runoff election will take place Feb. 8.

The special election was called after Hugh Leatherman (R) passed away on Nov. 12. Leatherman served from 1981 to 2021.

South Carolina has a Republican state government trifecta, meaning that the Republican Party controls the office of the governor and both chambers of the state legislature. Republicans have a 29-16 majority in the South Carolina State Senate with one vacancy.

As of November 2021, 10 state legislative special elections have been scheduled for 2022 in seven states. Between 2011 and 2020, an average of 75 special elections took place each year.

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Mississippi Senate District 32 special election advances to runoff

The special general runoff election for Mississippi State Senate District 32 is on Nov. 23. Rod Hickman and Minh Duong are competing in the runoff, after finishing in first and second place, respectively, at the general election on Nov. 2. 

Hickman and Duong defeated seven other candidates in the general election, earning 25.8% and 22.5% of the vote, respectively. A runoff was necessary because no candidate earned more than 50% of the vote.

State legislative special elections in Mississippi are nonpartisan, meaning that candidates’ party affiliations do not appear on the ballot.

The special election was called after Sampson Jackson (D) resigned from office effective June 30. Sampson assumed office in 1992.

Mississippi has a Republican state government trifecta. A trifecta exists when one political party simultaneously holds the governor’s office and majorities in both state legislative chambers. Republicans control the state Senate by a margin of 36 to 14 with two vacancies.

As of November 2021, 66 state legislative special elections have been scheduled for 2021 in 21 states. Between 2011 and 2020, an average of 75 special elections took place each year. Mississippi held 42 special elections from 2010 to 2020.

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