Timetable flowchart
City/Town Recalls: You must contact the appropriate City/Town Clerk’s office. Recalls for City/Town offices must file with the City/Town Clerk’s office, which may have different required deadlines and procedures.
Questions and answers
It depends on the size of the district. Elections Code §11221 has the percentages of signatures needed based on population of district. Use last official report to Secretary of State to find the number of registered voters in the district.
Use the last official report to the Secretary of State to find the number of registered voters in District. (EC Sec. 2187(d) lists the time when official reports of registration are due.) Latest report should be in Recall Binder.
Yes. Go to our Purchase Voter Data page for eligibility, forms and a price list.
It depends on the size of the district. Elections Code §11220 has the number of days allowed to circulate a petition based on population of the district.
Yes. It can be no more than 200 words (EC 11327, 13307).
There is nothing in the Elections Code that prohibits bullet points on the Reasons or Response on a recall petition. However, the separate, optional Candidate’s statement that is printed in the County Voter Information Guide if there is a recall election must be uniform and may not have bullet points (13307(b)).
Yes. The proponents of a recall file a campaign committee file reports with the Elections Office regardless of the amount of money they plan to raise or spend on the recall. (See requirements in FPPC Manual 3, also available at the front counter.)
The form of the petition is public information, but no one can see the signatures on a recall petition unless is fails. If the recall petition fails, only the proponents may look at it. They have 21 days to begin their examination of the signatures.
30 business days.
Return the petition to the proponents.
The Election Office has 30 working days to verify the signatures.
If sufficient qualified signatures, the Elections Office certifies the petition to the Governing Board for its next regular meeting (CA Elections Code Sec. 11227). The Governing Board has 14 days from the date of their meeting to order an election. The election must be ordered no less than 88 days or no more than 125 days from date of order. Recall elections may be consolidated with regular or special elections scheduled within this timeframe (CA Elections Code Sec. 11240).
If, after 14 days, the Governing Board does not order an election, the Election Official has 5 days to set the date for holding the election (CA Elections Code Sec. 11241).
The Elections Office keeps the petition on file. Proponents have 21 days to begin examination of petition signatures if they choose to do so.