Recall

THE RECALL IS an election to remove a public official from office before the end of his or her term. It is [Page 697]a form of direct democracy similar to referendum and initiative, in which the election is set in motion by the public because of dissatisfaction with the performance of an elected official, usually by a petition that requires a given number of signatures. If a majority votes in favor, a new election is scheduled to fill the vacancy.

The origin of the recall can be traced to ancient Rome, where the Plebeian Assembly is known to have removed officials from office. The recall has gained influence in the United States due to the efforts of the Progressive Party, which around the turn of the 20th century advocated for a Swiss type of direct democracy, to limit the influence of political parties. That was a period when rapid economic development led to massive social disruption and pressure for political participation by the newly emerging groups. The recall was used for the first time in the United States in Los Angeles in 1903, against a councilman who was successfully removed. Another successful recall of the Progressive era was that of North Dakota Governor Lynn J. Frazier in 1921. Despite a long history, the recall has encountered strong opposition on the part of legislators, and currently only 18 states allow it, although a majority of state constitutions provide for some type of direct democracy.

The last 30 years in the United States have seen an increase in various forms of direct democracy, mostly initiative, through which voters place legislation on the ballot, and to a lesser extent, recall. The latter has been particularly dominant at the local level and has served to remove many local officials. Recall attempts at the top levels generally have failed, with few exceptions. The California recall of 2003 was widely publicized; it removed the newly re-elected Democratic governor Gray Davis, replacing him with the Republican Arnold Schwarze-neger. The 2003 recall followed 31 failed attempts to recall a California governor, in a state requiring only 12 percent of signatures to fill the petition.

Worldwide, one of the most controversial recalls was the 2004 recall of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. Despite repeated attempts by the Chavez administration to reject the petition on technical grounds and to punish the signatories by firing them from public jobs, the opposition to the president collected a second set of the 20 percent of signatures required. The recall failed to remove the president amid accusations of fraud.

The debate about recall is rooted in philosophical arguments about representative democracy and public control. The recall is based on the agency view of democracy, which sees elected representatives as agents of the public, under the direct control of the people. The recall has powerful symbolic significance as a form of direct participation and is intended to provide feedback within the political system. It is expected to increase government responsiveness and accountability by removing, or threatening to remove, elected representatives who are corrupt, inefficient, unresponsive, or unpopular, and hence to have the overall effect of strengthening democracy.

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