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Concept
Recall election
Summary
A recall election (also called a recall referendum, recall petition or representative recall) is a procedure by which, in certain polities, voters can remove an elected official from office through a referendum before that official's term of office has ended. Recalls appear in the constitution in ancient Athenian democracy. Even where they are legally available, recall elections are only commonly held in a small number of countries including Peru, Ecuador, and Japan. They are considered by groups such as ACE Electoral Knowledge Network the most rarely used form of direct democracy.
The processes for recall elections vary greatly by country and can be originated in different ways.
This can be done in two ways:
Indirect (also known as a "Mixed" or "Top-down" recall): A recall may only be triggered by an official authority such as a government, parliament, or president.
Direct (also known as a "Full" or "Bottom-up" recall): A recall may be triggered by the public directly by the collection of signatures.
The scheduling of a recall outside of normal elections means large additional expenses to run an extra election (or two). For example, the 2021 California Gubernatorial recall election cost taxpayers an additional $300 million for an election that the governor won 61.9% to 38.1%.
Many recall elections take place in off-years, resulting in much lower voter turnout than regularly-scheduled elections.
Some recall elections have different rules than normal elections, requiring voter education and outreach.
The recall referendum arrived in Latin America shortly after its introduction at the US subnational level, in 1923 and 1933, to Cordoba and Entre Ríos provinces, respectively, both in Argentina. There, recall exists at the provincial level in Chaco (introduced in 1957), Chubut (1994), Córdoba (1923, 1987), Corrientes (1960), La Rioja (1986), Rio Negro (1988), Santiago del Estero and Tierra del Fuego (1991); other provinces include it for their municipalities, namely, Entre Ríos (1933), Neuquén (1957), Misiones (1958), San Juan (1986), San Luis (1987).
Official source
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