Political Mechanisms
Recall Election
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A recall election is a procedure by which voters can remove an elected official from office through a popular vote before that official's term has ended. Triggered by a petition rather than the regular electoral calendar, it remains, in its own primary source's words, the most rarely used form of direct democracy.
Facts
Founding ContextA recall election lets voters remove an elected official from office before the end of their term by petition and a special vote, rather than waiting for the next scheduled election. The Massachusetts Bay Colony used an early form of the mechanism as far back as 1631, but it did not become a regular feature of American state and local government until the Progressive Era reforms of the early twentieth century, which introduced it alongside the initiative and referendum as a check on unresponsive officials. 1 Disputed
Origin YearThe Massachusetts Bay Colony's General Court established an early recall procedure in 1631; the mechanism did not become a regular feature of American state and municipal government until the Progressive Era of the early twentieth century, when it spread alongside the initiative and referendum. Cross-Tradition Connections
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