Recall election

A recall election is a vote in which eligible voters decide whether to remove an elected official before the official’s term ends.

Recall petition: A formal request, often supported by signatures, to initiate a recall process. Petitions commonly begin a recall by showing sufficient voter support.
2012 Wisconsin gubernatorial recall election: A 2012 vote in which Wisconsin voters decided whether to remove Governor Scott Walker. It became a major modern U.S. test of a governor’s vulnerability to recall.
Impeachment in the United States: The constitutional process by which Congress may charge and remove federal officials in the United States. It offers an institutional alternative to removing officials through a public vote.
Political accountability: The obligation of public officials to explain and answer for their conduct and decisions. Recall makes the possibility of early removal a direct form of accountability.
Signature requirement: A rule specifying how many valid signatures a petition must collect to qualify for a process. The required threshold determines whether a recall reaches the ballot.
2003 California gubernatorial recall election: A California vote that removed Governor Gray Davis and elected Arnold Schwarzenegger as his replacement. It demonstrates how one ballot can combine removal and selection of a successor.
Referendum: A popular vote in which citizens decide a proposed law or public question. Referendums usually decide policy, while recalls decide whether an officeholder stays.
Political polarization: The widening of ideological or partisan divisions within a political community. Highly contested recalls can intensify partisan conflict around an officeholder.
Recall threshold: The vote share or other condition required for a recall to succeed. Some systems require a majority or another specified level of support to remove an official.
2011 Venezuela presidential recall referendum: A 2004 referendum in which Venezuelan voters chose whether President Hugo Chávez should remain in office. It illustrates recall applied to a national executive under a constitutional referendum process.

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