How to Recall a U.S. Senator

Senators have to find a balance between voting their conscience and voting as their constituents would like. If senators vote their conscience too heavily, constituents tend to get angry. When this happens, constituents may ask for a recall of their U.S. Senator.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

1. Consider your location. Few states allow for a recall of a senator—only 18 and the District of Columbia. If you're not living in one of these states you have no constitutional rights to recall.

2. Determine the grounds for recall. You'll need this information to make your case to the population but in 7 of the 18 states specific grounds are actually required. In these states, if your reasons don't measure up, you won't be allowed to proceed with the recall.

3. Get signatures. You'll need a petition to get a recall election. The number of signatures is usually a percentage of the voters at the last election but this differs by state.

4. Prepare for a response. At some point during the process, the senator will be notified that a petition for recall is being circulated. She will then have a chance to respond to the allegations.

5. Get voters to the recall election. Once the recall election is granted, alert the community and get them out to vote. The ballot will ask whether or not the senator should be recalled and the state may hold an election at the same time to elect the next person for that office.

Tips & Warnings

• The 18 states allowing for recall are as follows: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington and Wisconsin.
• A website or a phone campaign are good ways to get your petition going. Going door-to-door is also an option although it is more time consuming than the other two. This is important since you only have a set number of days to obtain the correct number of signatures—anywhere from 30 to 180 days.
• You will be fighting an uphill battle to recall a U.S. Senator. No member of Congress has ever been recalled in the history of the United States.

[teabill]

on 11/23/2009 to der 123- BTW- those tax cuts-you're bitching about-go to businesses-that create jobs for about 60% of us Americans! A job -you know what that is --don't you? It sounds to me like the only word you understand is--handout! If you don't understand that-maybe you understand the concept of stealing- also known as government taxation and regulation of my private property to redistribute to someone like you--that didn't earn it, doesn't deserve it, and doesn't have a "right" to it!! Contray to what you parasites believe---nobody owes you anything--other than the right to life, liberty, and the "pursuit" of happiness--emphasis on "pursuit"--in other words -no guarantees!!

[teabill]

on 11/23/2009 to der 123---Now that you bring it up---medicare is unconstitutional! And if I am wrong --please direct me to the location in the Constitution that says ---healthcare is a "right" that has to provided by me to you ! I see a right to freedom of speech etc.-but nothing about a "right" to healthcare !!!After all I am the government-where do you think the money comes from--the tooth fairy? BTW-the government has been stealing from me for so long--medicare is now bankrupt-trillions of dolars in debt! And your beloved Marxists in Congress (Reid, Baucus, Tester, Pelosi etc.)are now going to screw you by killing Medicare (read the Senator Reid -healthcare bill if you have 34 hours to spare) by taking some 500 Billion dollars from Medicare--in order to give it to someone else! A government powerful enough to give you everything you want--is also powerful enough to take everything away! BTW-...

[der123]

on 11/21/2009 mtrifle i suppose you think Medicare is unconstitutional? Don't make retarded baseless claims without a valid reason. And my god you people are stupid. line up and fight for the people who don't care about you. Who's taxes do you think they are going to cut? The only people Repubs want to cut taxes for are the people who make much more than you do.

[gamt52]

on 11/21/2009 Hello to All Americans who still believe in our Constitution,

I wrote an email to an individual however I feel so strongly about this subject and the need to take back our country that I decided to post a general comment/message.

In order to change what is going on in Washington we must be more vigilant in electing people who are honest, who state with certainty their positions and values and who will with exception represent the will of there constituents and not their political parties.

Then we must hold them accountable!

In my mind both of the major parties have long gone a stray. I live in Montana and I believe it is time for both our Senators to find new careers. I would like join this cause and start the recall process.

I am willing to help file a petition, solicit and collect names and do what else I can.

I think it is a disgrace that our Senators will not li...

[mtrifle]

on 10/23/2009 I live in Montana and I would very much like to recall Senator Max Baccus. I believe that his and every other senator's votes on the health care bill violate the constitution, but I know that to recall him would be very difficult. That said, how embarrasing would it be if a recall petition was even started. I don't care what the attorney general likes or doesn't like. He is a Democrat, so I would expect him to say that we can't recall Baccus. If the petition were started and started to get wings, he would have no choice but to back the wishes of the citizens of the state. If we start it here, people in other states may start similar petitions. At the very least, the senators have to respond to these petitions and this will at the very least weaken them politicly. Just the fact that there was a recall petition will hurt their political career. They will have to back away from obama an...