178 Elected Officials in US Targeted for Recall This Year

So far in 2017, 134 recall efforts have been initiated against 178 officials in 31 states. That’s down a bit from 189 recall efforts launched in the first half of 2016, but up from 97 at this point in 2015.

City council members have been the target of 41 percent of recall efforts this year. These include Providence Councilman Kevin Jackson in Rhode Island, who was recalled over embezzlement allegations, and three members of the city council of Homer, Alaska, who were targeted for recall after issuing formal resolutions supporting cities who opposed federal immigration law and were critical of the Dakota Access Pipeline.

                                                                               Source: Ballotpedia 

Efforts against 90 of the 178 targeted officials are still ongoing. Recall attempts targeting 42 officials did not make it to the ballot (marked "Unsuccessful" on chart). Of the 31 officials whose recalls made it to the ballot, 19 were recalled and 12 survived the attempt. Ten other officials resigned before their recalls could go to a vote. Recall efforts against two politicians remain unofficial, two officials have a recall election scheduled for the future, and one targeted official had their recall effort decided by a court order.

                                                                                    Source: Ballotpedia

As in previous years, California was the state with the most officials targeted for recall. By June 19, 2017, Californians had initiated recall proceedings against 50 elected officials. This compares to 20 officials targeted in Colorado and 11 in Michigan, the next-highest states.

There are 519,000 elected officials in the United States. Voters in 36 states have the power to recall elected officials, bringing an early end to their term in office.

For more information, see Ballotpedia's Mid-Year Recall Report (2017).

Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day is published by Ballotpedia. Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology.

Scott Rasmussen is a Senior Fellow for the Study of Self-Governance at the King’s College in New York and an Editor-At-Large for Ballotpedia, the Encyclopedia of American Politics. His most recent book, "Politics Has Failed: America Will Not," was published by the Sutherland Institute in May.To read more of his reports — Click Here Now.