Recall Signatures, the Ballot and the Vote

Lesson 2 covered who can be recalled and when a petition may start. This lesson takes the drive from approval to the result, with every number and deadline in Chapter 17. Idaho's recall rules are tighter than its initiative rules on time (75 days against 18 months) and looser on geography (no distribution requirement). And its vote rule is unusual: winning the recall election is not enough to remove the officer.

How many signatures

Idaho Code 34-1702 sets a different base for each kind of office. In every case the base is fixed by a past election, so the number does not move while signatures are being gathered.

Office	Signers must be	Required number	Statute
Statewide executive officer	Registered electors of the state	20% of electors registered at the last general election held to elect a governor	34-1702(1)
State senator or representative	Registered electors of the legislative district	20% of electors registered at the last general election in the district at which the member was elected	34-1702(2)
County officer	Registered electors of the county	20% of electors registered at the last general election for county officers at which the officer was elected	34-1702(3)
Mayor or at-large council member	Registered electors of the city	20% of electors registered at the last general city election	34-1702(4)
Council member elected by district	Registered electors residing in that council district	20% of electors registered at the last election for that district	34-1702(4), added 2025
Special district officer (including school trustees)	Registered electors residing in the district, subdistrict or zone that elects the officer	50% of electors who cast votes in the last election there; if none in the last 6 years, 20% of registered electors there when the petition is filed	34-1702(5)

Two changes are recent. In 2022, House Bill 695 set the special district base on the voters of the district, subdistrict or zone that actually elects the officer; its statement of purpose describes the goal as aligning the signature count "with the body of electors who elect said official." In 2025, House Bill 377, signed March 28, 2025, did the same for cities that elect council members by district under 50-707A, which requires districts once a city passes 100,000 people. A district council member is now recalled by voters of that district only, with 20 percent of that district's registration as the base.

The special district rule deserves attention because it works so differently. It is based on turnout, not registration, and at 50 percent instead of 20. A trustee zone with 3,000 registered voters but only 300 voters in its last trustee election needs 150 signatures. The same zone with 1,200 voters at its last election needs 600. A quiet, uncontested election produces a low recall threshold; a hard-fought one produces a high one.

For city recalls, if a city sits in two or more counties, each county clerk performs the functions for the part of the city in that county, under 34-1702(4) and the uniform district election law in 34-1401. Special districts that cross county lines work the same way.

The 75-day clock

Under 34-1704(2), the Secretary of State or clerk tells the organizers in writing, when approving the petition's form, that the petition "must be perfected with the required number of signatures within seventy-five (75) days." The clock runs in calendar days from the date of approval. The 20 signatures on the prospective petition do not count. A petition short at the end of 75 days is "null and void ab initio in its entirety," meaning the effort ends and the 90-day bar in 34-1707(4) applies to any new one.

Several other rules govern the 75 days:

• All sheets are filed the same day (34-1706). There is no rolling submission for recalls. Organizers keep their own count and file once.
• Signers may withdraw before filing. 34-1713(3) lets a signer cross out his or her own signature any time before the petition is filed.
• Every sheet is sworn. The circulator's notarized affidavit under 34-1705 must be on each sheet.
• A court can restart the clock. If the filing officer refuses a petition with enough signatures, any citizen may ask the district court for a writ of mandamus within 10 business days (34-1715). If the court finds the petition sufficient, it is filed as of the original date, and the 34-1704(2) time limits run only from the court's judgment. Either side may appeal to the court of appeals within 10 business days. Cases about state officers go to the district court in Ada County.

Filing, verification and notice

Petitions for state officers and legislators are filed with the Secretary of State, who "shall promptly transmit" them to the county clerks. Petitions for county, city and district officers go straight to the county clerk. Either way, the clerk does the checking: under 34-1706 the clerk verifies "whether or not the petition signers are qualified electors," attaches a certificate in the manner set out in 34-1807, and must finish within 15 business days of receiving the petitions. Lesson 8 explains how clerks match names, addresses and signatures to the voter rolls.

Then 34-1707 takes over:

1. If the petition has enough certified signatures, the filing officer promptly gives written notice to the officer and the petitioner that the petition is "in proper form." For a city or district officer, the clerk also notifies the city or district's governing board.
2. The officer has 5 business days to resign. A resignation in that window takes effect the day it is offered, and the vacancy is filled as the law provides for that office.
3. If the officer does not resign, the Secretary of State (for state officers and legislators) or the county clerk (for county, city and district officers) orders a special election on a date allowed by 34-106. If the Secretary of State is the target, the governor orders it; if the county clerk is the target, the Secretary of State does.
4. If the petition is short, the officer stays in office and no new petition may circulate against that officer for 90 days.

Setting the election date

Idaho holds elections on a short list of dates. Idaho Code 34-106(1) allows two each year: the third Tuesday in May and the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, plus emergency elections for disasters. 34-106(9) puts recalls on those dates: a recall election may be held on any of them "as long as the recall petition is certified no later than the tenth Friday before the next scheduled election." 34-1710 lets a recall share the ballot with another election.

The Secretary of State's calendar shows how this works. For the May 18, 2027 election, it lists a recall notification deadline of March 12, 2027, by which political subdivisions must tell the county clerk a recall election has been ordered. Counting back from May 18, 2027 by Fridays: May 14, May 7, April 30, April 23, April 16, April 9, April 2, March 26, March 19, March 12. March 12 is the tenth Friday.

Election	Date	Tenth Friday before (certification cutoff, by the 34-106(9) count)
November 2026 general	Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026	Friday, Aug. 28, 2026
May 2027	Tuesday, May 18, 2027	Friday, March 12, 2027 (on the Secretary of State's calendar)
November 2027	Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2027	Friday, Aug. 27, 2027

Dates other than March 12, 2027 are computed from the statute; confirm them on the Secretary of State's election calendar or with the county clerk.

The practical effect: a petition certified a week after the cutoff waits six months for the next date. Organizers who plan backward from the date they want can avoid that. The 75 days of gathering, up to 15 business days of verification and 5 business days for a possible resignation together take about 100 days, so a drive aimed at a May election usually starts the previous fall.

The recall ballot

Idaho Code 34-1708 sets the form. The ballot is headed "RECALL BALLOT." It prints the reason for the recall in no more than 200 words and the officer's justification in no more than 200 words. Then it asks the question in a form substantially like this:

FOR recalling ..... who holds office of ....
AGAINST recalling ..... who holds office of ....

Idaho recall ballots do not list replacement candidates. The question is only whether this officer stays. The election is run, canvassed and certified "in all respects as general elections" except where Chapter 17 says otherwise (34-1710), and notice is given as for a general election (34-1712(2)). The officer stays in office and keeps doing the job until the results are proclaimed (34-1709), with the added limits on school trustees in 33-504 described in lesson 2.

The double vote test

Idaho Code 34-1712(3) sets the rule that decides most close recalls:

1. A majority of the votes cast at the recall election must be for recall; and
2. "additionally," the votes for recall must equal or exceed the votes cast for that officer at the last general election for the office.

If the officer was appointed, or was not required to stand for election, only the majority test applies.

The second test exists so that a small, motivated group in a low-turnout special election cannot undo a large election result. To remove an officer, at least as many people must vote to remove as voted to elect. It also means turnout drives recalls. A recall against an officer who won big in a presidential-year November needs a lot of yes votes; a recall against a trustee who won 177 to 150 in a quiet May needs far fewer.

Scenario	Officer's votes when elected	Yes	No	Majority?	Yes at least equal to original votes?	Result
A	2,140	2,050	1,600	Yes (56%)	No (2,050 is less than 2,140)	Officer stays
B	2,140	2,300	2,400	No (49%)	Yes	Officer stays
C	2,140	2,200	1,900	Yes (54%)	Yes	Recalled
D, appointed officer	None (appointed)	900	850	Yes (51%)	Not applied	Recalled
West Bonner 2023, trustee 1 (real)	245 (as listed by Ballotpedia)	762	About 450 (estimated)	Yes (63%)	Yes	Recalled

Scenarios A to D are invented. West Bonner figures are unofficial results reported by Ballotpedia; the "no" figure is estimated from the 63 percent share (762 / 0.63 = about 1,210 total votes, and 1,210 - 762 = about 450), not a reported count.

Canvass, proclamation and the vacancy

Under 34-1711, the board of county commissioners canvasses every recall held wholly or partly in its county within 10 days after the election. For county, city and district officers, the county clerk proclaims the result right after the canvass and, for a city or district, certifies it to that body's clerk. For state officers and legislators, the commissioners send an abstract to the Secretary of State, the state board of canvassers meets within 15 days of the election, and the Secretary of State proclaims the result.

An officer who is recalled leaves office when the results are proclaimed, and a vacancy exists at that moment (34-1712(4)). Under 34-1712(5), the vacancy is filled "in the manner provided by law for filling a vacancy in that office arising from any other cause." That means the replacement is chosen the same way it would be if the officer had resigned:

Office	How the vacancy is filled	Statute
State senator or representative	The former member's party legislative district committee submits three names within 15 days; the governor appoints one within 15 days. Serves until the next general election.	59-904A
County officer other than commissioner	The former officer's party county central committee submits three names within 15 days; the county commissioners appoint one. Serves until the next general election.	59-906
County commissioner	Appointed by the governor	59-906
Mayor	The city council fills it from inside or outside the council until the next general city election	50-608
City council member	Nominated by the mayor and confirmed by the council until the next general city election	50-704
School trustee	Appointed by the remaining board within 90 days; after that, at large; after 120 days, by the county commissioners	33-504(3)

Two consequences follow. For partisan offices, the recalled officer's own party picks the nominees for the replacement. A recall can remove a person without changing which party holds the seat. And for city offices, the remaining elected officials choose the replacement, so a recall of one council member hands the choice to the mayor and the rest of the council.

Who pays

Recall elections are public elections, paid with public money. 34-1712(1) applies the general election laws, "including the payment of expenses of conducting the recall election." For cities and districts, 34-1411 has said since January 1, 2011 that no county may charge a taxing district for the expense of running its elections (ballots, poll books, election workers, equipment and notices), except for municipal runoffs. So a city or district recall is run and paid for by the county.

The cost of an election depends on whether it shares the ballot. A recall placed on a regular May or November ballot adds a ballot style or a page. A recall that is the only item on the ballot in part of a county carries the whole cost of printing, mailing absentee ballots, staffing polling places and canvassing. No statewide figure is published for recall costs; the county clerk can give an estimate, and the county's election expense records show what a past election cost.

The cost question returns when a second recall is attempted. Under 34-1713(2), after one recall election, no new petition may be filed against the same officer during that term unless the petitioners first pay into the treasury that paid for it "the whole amount of the expenses for the preceding recall election."