Recall election

A recall election is a procedure by which voters can remove an elected official from office. Along with the initiative and referendum, it was one of the major electoral reforms advocated by leaders of the Progressive movement in the United States during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Representative recall

The Canadian province of British Columbia has representative recall. In that province, voters in a provincial riding can petition to have a sitting representative removed from office, even a Premier presently leading a government. If enough voters sign the petition, the Speaker of the legislature announces before the House that the member has been recalled and a by-election follows as soon as possible, it gives the opportunity to replace the politician in question. Fourteen United States states have similar measures in their constitutions — and many more municipalities — but generally these measures fail to operate more readily than in British Columbia, which in January 2003 achieved a record twenty-two such recall efforts (all but one of them, excluding the recall of Paul Reitsma, ultimately failed, however).

Related Topics:
Canadian - British Columbia - Riding - Petition - By-election - United States - January 2003 - Paul Reitsma

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