Jay Moreno Explains Recall Process

From the T&G

Recall of elected officials a complicated process

Dear Editor,
As you know, the community is abuzz with talk of recalling both Sheriff Bill Smith and District 4 County Commissioner Charlene Sears.

Thanks to outstanding assistance from Probate Judge and Supervisor of Elections, Martin Gillette, personally, as well as his Clerk of Court, Shirley Wise, and Kay Varnedore over at the registrar's office, I have been able to educate myself on just what such recall efforts would require. I would like to share that knowledge with your readers.

First, two currently registered voters, one residing in each of the two areas - District 4 for Sears, the entire county for Smith - would have to go to Judge Gillette's office and register as the official "sponsors" of the two, separate, recall efforts. Those persons would be subject to the same campaign finance reporting rules as a candidate under the Georgia "Ethics in Government Act." So, by the way, would the "sponsor" of any effort to campaign in favor of not recalling the "target(s)."

Moreover, to "campaign" for or against the recall and to spend any money in the process, there must be a registered campaign finance committee to receive, expend, and report those funds.

Within 15 days of so registering and receiving the official forms from Judge Gillette, the sponsor and such qualified volunteers (other qualified registered voters, as above) must obtain the signatures of at least 100 verified, qualified, currently registered voters and return them to the judge for verification.
Along with the initial 100 signatures, the sponsor(s) must submit "Grounds for recall" IAW O.C.G.A. $ 21-4-3.

(7) "Grounds for recall" means:
(A) That the official has, while holding public office, conducted himself or herself in a manner that relates to and adversely affects the administration of his or her office and adversely affects the rights and interests of the public; and
(B) That the official:
(i) Has committed an act or acts of malfeasance while in office;
(ii) Has violated his or her oath of office;
(iii) Has committed an act of misconduct in office;
(iv) Is guilty of a failure to perform duties prescribed by law; or
(v) Has willfully misused, converted, or misappropriated, without authority, public property or public funds entrusted to or associated with the elective office to which the official has been elected or appointed.
Upon submission of and verification of the requirements described so far, the judge will then immediately notify the "target" elected official(s) of such action. Said official(s) will then have four working days to decide whether or not to appeal the "sufficiency" of the signatures and allegations to the Superior Court. All further activity will be suspended during those four days, and, if an appeal is filed, until after the Superior Court's ruling.
If there is no such challenge, or, the Superior Court upholds the "sufficiency," then the hard work begins. The sponsor and his assistants will be furnished with official petition forms from the Office of the Secretary of State, via Judge Gillette's office. Within 90 days of the physical receipt of those forms, the would-be recallers must accomplish the following.·

They must obtain verified signatures from a number of currently registered electors (voters) equal to or greater than 30 percent of the number of voters who were registered on the day the "target" was last elected.

Sheriff Smith was last elected on Nov. 3, 2004. There were 24,949 eligible, registered voters, countywide, on that day. Thirty percent of that number is the 7,485 signatures of current electors that will be needed - at a minimum - for a recall election.

Commissioner Sears was last elected on Nov. 6, 2006. The total number of eligible voters in District 4 on that day was 6,283. Ergo, at least 1,885 signatures will be needed for a recall election.

If 51 percent or more of electors in a recall vote for recall, the seat shall be vacant immediately. The recall election(s) would be held not less than 30 nor more than 45 days after the Supervisor of Elections (Judge Gillette) receives the certified recall vote results. The cutoff for registering to vote will be 30 days prior to the date of the vote.

Any otherwise eligible citizen, including the just recalled elected official, may run for the vacant seat.

A few housekeeping notes. Only persons currently eligible to vote in the recall vote (if any) are eligible to solicit and verify signatures. Excluded from such eligibility are elected officials and anyone authorized to conduct voter registration. Moreover, any notary public who might notarize one or more of the petition sheets must be otherwise qualified to vote in the recall, but may neither solicit signatures personally nor sign the petition as a petitioner.

In closing, let me make it clear that at the time of a recall election, all then eligible voters may vote. Whether a voter was registered at the last election, whether or not they voted, and how they voted, are all irrelevant.In the case of the sheriff, all currently registered voters anywhere in the county would be eligible to both sign the petition and vote, but only District 4 voters in the case of Commissioner Sears.

While I definitely do have strong personal preferences in these matters, this informational letter is not intended nor should it be construed as advocating any one course of action over another. It is strictly intended to educate the electorate on the "mechanics" of a recall vote.

Jay Moreno
St. Marys