‘People’s Alternative to Impeachment’: 4 Things to Know About Recalling Governors

Angry Californians, fed up with some of the governor’s policies, started a petition to recall him, knowing that the incumbent had two more years in office until going before voters again.

The 1968 push to recall Gov. Ronald Reagan fell on the ash heap of history, however. The effort failed to collect enough valid signatures (12% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election) to be on the ballot.

Reagan was reelected as governor in 1970, and went on to have a decent political future.

Recall attempts actually are common in California and other states that allow the practice. What’s rare is getting a statewide recall drive on the ballot for voters to decide.

Of the 20 states that allow voters to recall governors, most require a signature threshold of 25% of the number of votes cast in the latest governor’s race to qualify for inclusion on the ballot, according to Ballotpedia, a nonprofit that provides election information.

That’s one reason that, since 1921, only three governors across the nation have faced recall elections—two in the past 18 years. A fourth governor was impeached and removed from office before facing voters in a recall election.

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