Recall elections

Unsuccessful attempts to qualify recall elections

• 1967 United States SenatorFrank Church of Idaho was the subject of an unsuccessful recall effort. Courts ruled that a federal official is not subject to state recall laws.
• 1988 Evan Mecham, Governor of Arizona, was scheduled for a recall election on May 17 of that year, after a successful petition drive (301,000 signatures). However, the Supreme Court of Arizona canceled the election, since Mecham had already been removed from office (via impeachment conviction) by the Senate on April 4.
• 1992–93 Pete Wilson, Governor of California was targeted for recall by the Bite 'Em Back campaign, which was a grassroots effort that came about as a result of a piece by San Jose Mercury NewscolumnistPat Dillon, in response to the then-ongoing California budgetary crisis. The Bite 'Em Back campaign also intended to recall then-Speaker of the AssemblyWillie L. Brown, and then-President Pro Tem of the state Senate, David Roberti.
• 2003 H. Brent Coles, mayor of Boise, Idaho, was the subject of a recall petition drive. Coles resigned on February 14, 2003, before the recall drive could proceed.
• 2009 Joseph CaoU.S. representative for Louisiana's 2nd congressional district, was determined to be not subject to recall because of his status as a Federal office holder.
• 2009 a petition failed to garner sufficient signatures to oblige an election for recall of Eddie Price III, mayor of Mandeville, Louisiana.
• 2009 a petition for recall of Stacy Head, New Orleans city councilwoman, likewise failed to gain the requisite number of signatures.
• 2010 there were two unsuccessful recall petitions for Sam Adams mayor of Portland, OR.
• 2010 there was one unsuccessful recall petition for Lisa Poppaw city council member of Fort Collins, CO.
• 2010 there was one unsuccessful recall petition for Antonio Villaraigosa mayor of Los Angeles.
• 2010, a recall proposal aimed at mayor Ron Littlefield of Chattanooga, Tennessee, failed after a judge of the Hamilton County, Tennesseecircuit court ruled that too many of the petition signatures were invalid and that the petitioners had failed to properly adhere to the state's recall law, leaving "pages without dates".
• 2011, the Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled in November that the Hamilton County Circuit Court Judge Jeff Hollingsworth did not have the jurisdiction in entering an injunction against the Hamilton County Election Commission. In its judgment summary the Appeals Court said, "The trial court acted without jurisdiction in entering an injunction against the Election Commission. The judgment of the trial court is vacated and the complaint dismissed." Mayor Littlefield is continuing legal action to stop the recall.
• 2011, as part of the 2011 Wisconsin Senate recall elections, there were a number of failed recall petitions. Petitions against senators Lena Taylor (D), Spencer Coggs (D), Mark Miller (D), Glenn Grothman (R), Julie Lassa (D), Fred Risser (D), and Mary Lazich (R), were unsuccessful. Many senators had multiple recall petitions filed against them, and in the case of both Wirch and Hansen, one succeeded while others failed.
• 2011, an effort to recall Michigan GovernorRick Snyder was ended after organizers did not obtain enough petition signatures to appear on the ballot.
• 2011, a petition to recall Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna failed to obtain the necessary signatures to force a recall election.
• 2011, an attempt to prompt recall election of Trenton, New Jersey, mayor Tony F. Mack failed to obtain enough support.
• 2011 recall of Alaska State Representative Kyle Johansen, rejected by the state's Division of Elections on October 10. Republicans in his district sponsored the recall when Johansen and fellow representative Charisse Millett left the House's majority caucus in a dispute over Johansen's role in the 27th Legislature. In 2012, Johansen ran for reelection as an independent and lost by a wide margin; Millett was reelected.
• 2017: In Loveland, Ohio, Mayor Mark Fitzgerald resigned under pressure from a recall effort, and a move to replace him was declared invalid, leaving the city with no mayor for several months.
• 2019: Kate Brown, Governor of Oregon, was the subject of a recall petition due to her support of Oregon House Bill 2020 which also resulted in the 2019 Oregon Senate Republican walkouts.
• 2020: In Norman, Oklahoma, the mayor and four of the eight city councilmembers were the subject of unsuccessful recall initiatives.