What Allows Citizens to Remove Someone From Office?
It is, and was designed to be, difficult for U.S. citizens to remove elected officials from office. In some state and local jurisdictions, the recall of an elected official is possible. In most other cases, it requires the ability to prove a crime of some type. For high officials, such as the president, it may take a formal impeachment.
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Recall
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Although it's rarely used, 26 states have some form of recall available to citizens. State laws vary in terms of the requirements for a recall, but they typically require a petition with a given number of signatures followed by a public referendum and, if the referendum is passed, a new election to fill the office. The Progressive, or "Bull Moose" Party called for recall at the federal level in 1912, but the party only lasted until 1918 and the initiative was never passed.
Impeachment
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On the federal level, the U.S. Constitution Article II, section 4 "The President, Vice President and all civil officers of the United States" are subject to impeachment. Civil officers is a vague term, but it's been applied to Senators in the past and the American Bar Association holds the position that it could be applied to "federal judges, cabinet members, but not Senators and Representatives." Many state constitutions also allow for the impeachment of officials under certain circumstances. Impeachment is similar to a trial except that the jurors are other elected representatives. Impeachment doesn't necessarily mean removal from office, but that's a frequent outcome. Citizens can be involved in impeachment only if they can convince a Representative to begin proceedings by presenting reasonable grounds for impeachment.
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Crime or Fraud
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Some state constitutions allow for the removal of officials who are convicted of crimes or who committed some form of fraud, such as not meeting legal election requirements. Criminal or fraudulent activity can also be grounds for impeachment in most jurisdictions. This is potentially an avenue for citizens to remove someone from office, but only if they have evidence of criminal activity or fraud sufficient for a court to convict that person.
Elections
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The natural path for citizens to remove someone from office is through an election. This is the principal reason why democratic societies have elections. Since elected officials are generally up for election every 2, 4 or 6 years, removing someone from office in an election may be the fastest way to do it.
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