Recall (politics)

In constitutional law, a recall is the right of a number of voters to bring about a vote on the removal of an elected official during his or her term of office.

A recall is mostly counted among the instruments of direct and council democracy , although this popular right actually affects representative democracy . It is permissible:

• in certain US states
• in the Canadian province of British Columbia
• in Venezuela also at the state level
• in the prefectures and municipalities of Japan
• in the UK for Members of the House of Commons
• In certain cantons of Switzerland , in which, however, not individual office holders but always an entire institution can be removed ( see also: Removal )
• in Bavaria , where a referendum to recall the state parliament can be requested
• in Berlin , where a referendum can be carried out after early elections, see people's legislation in Berlin # referendum
• in North Rhine-Westphalia, see law on the initiation of voting procedures for mayors and district administrators through citizens' petitions

United States

California

Deposed Governor Gray Davis (right) and his elected successor Arnold Schwarzenegger (left) with George W. Bush in November 2003

For a request for a recall of a public official (for example a judge elected by the people), depending on the office, 10% to 30% of the votes that were cast in the last election for this office are required. To vote out the governor , this percentage is 12%. The reasons for the recall must be stated on the signature sheet, the incumbent can add a reply.

If the collection of signatures is successful, a ballot takes place in which an absolute majority of the votes cast removes the incumbent. At the same time, other applicants can be elected with a relative majority. There is no minimum turnout in the ballot, but the turnout for recalls is usually very high.

In 2003, California Governor Gray Davis was replaced by the Democrats with Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger . By then, there had been 117 attempts at state-level recall in California, 48 of them against governors. Of these, only five were successful; the governors only succeeded in removing Gray Davis.

Distribution in the USA

In 18 US states, elected officials can also be voted out of office at the state level, and in some others only at the local level. Regarding the regional distribution, it is noticeable that the recall occurs almost only in western countries. There is no recall at the federal level, nor is there a recall for the senators , because they are elected according to federal law.

History in the USA

The first legal regulations for a recall existed in 1903 in Los Angeles, at the state level in 1908 in Oregon. Since then, over 5,000 recalls have taken place in the United States, most of them at the local level. Before 2003, a governor in the USA was voted out of office with a recall: the pacifist Lynn Frazier in 1921 as governor of North Dakota .

United Kingdom

Since the Recall of MPs Act 2015 came into force , members of the British House of Commons must face a voting procedure in their constituency if one of several requirements is met. The DUP -Abgeordnete Ian Paisley survived such a procedure in July 2018. With Fiona Onasanya (formerly Labor Party ) lost early May 2019 for the first time a member of parliament his parliamentary mandate.

Recall 2004 in Venezuela

In 2004 there was the world's first attempt to have a head of state voted out prematurely by the people. The recall against Hugo Chavez, the President of Venezuela, clearly missed a majority with 41% of the votes cast.

See also

• Impeachment in Germany

literature

• Silvano Moeckli : Direct Democracy. An international comparison . Bern 1994, Paul Haupt publishing house.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Recall History in California (1913 to Present). (No longer available online.) California Secretary of State, archived from the original on January 5, 2015 ; accessed on January 5, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ↑ Fiona Onasanya: Speeding offense MP ousted under recall rules. BBC , May 1, 2019, accessed the same day. (English)