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08/18/2003 Archived Entry: "Keep an eye on Arizona, kids..."
Keep an eye on Arizona, kids...
Here's the statute regarding recall of an elected official in the state of Arizona:
Arizona ConstiutionArticle 8, Part 1, Section 1:
1. Officers subject to recall; petitioners
Section 1. Every public officer in the state of Arizona, holding an elective office, either by election or appointment, is subject to recall from such office by the qualified electors of the electoral district from which candidates are elected to such office. Such electoral district may include the whole state. Such number of said electors as shall equal twenty-five per centum of the number of votes cast at the last preceding general election for all of the candidates for the office held by such officer, may by petition, which shall be known as a recall petition, demand his recall.
Article 8, Part 1, Section 5:
5. Recall petitions; restrictions and conditions
Section 5. No recall petition shall be circulated against any officer until he shall have held his office for a period of six months, except that it may be filed against a member of the legislature at any time after five days from the beginning of the first session after his election. After one recall petition and election, no further recall petition shall be filed against the same officer during the term for which he was elected, unless petitioners signing such petition shall first pay into the public treasury which has paid such election expenses, all expenses of the preceding election.
Article 8, Part 1, Section 2:
2. Recall petitions; contents; filing; signatures; oath
Section 2. Every recall petition must contain a general statement, in not more than two hundred words, of the grounds of such demand, and must be filed in the office in which petitions for nominations to the office held by the incumbent are required to be filed. The signatures to such recall petition need not all be on one sheet of paper, but each signer must add to his signature the date of his signing said petition, and his place of residence, giving his street and number, if any, should he reside in a town or city. One of the signers of each sheet of such petition, or the person circulating such sheet, must make and subscribe an oath on said sheet, that the signatures thereon are genuine.
I'd be willing to bet that a recall petition gets started if the 'gas crunch' goes on much longer.
Replies: somebody speaks up.
What is it with these insane recall petitions? What's the point of having elected officials if they can be voted out of office prior to the end of their terms? I could understand a recall initiative if criminality or physical/psychological incapacitation were involved.
Forgive my naivete, but I thought the US was a Republic, not a Democracy. The former is based on elected officials, the latter on direct popular referenda.
Posted by Metropolitan99 @ 08/19/2003 12:45 PM NY
