The number of recall efforts taking place nationwide – along with the number of elected officials impacted by recall efforts – held a similar pace over the first 264 days of 2023 compared to 2022.
As of September 21, 2023, Ballotpedia identified a total of 232 recall efforts nationwide through the first 264 days of the year against 340 total elected officials. By comparison, Ballotpedia tracked a total of 266 recall efforts in 2022 against a total of 448 elected officials.
While most offices have seen similar recall effort totals from 2022 to 2023, there has been considerably more recall attempts at the state legislator level in 2023 compared to 2022.
A total of 17 recall efforts involving 12 state legislators were tracked through the first 264 days of 2023, compared to only two state legislators included in recall efforts in 2022.
Conversely, no state executives were included in recall efforts through the first 264 days of 2023, compared to six state executives who were included in recall efforts in 2022.
While recall efforts have been higher in 2023 with state legislators and lower with state executives, city council, mayoral, and school board recall efforts are at a similar pace year-over-year.
In 2022, there were a total of 175 city council members included in recall efforts nationwide – more than any other elected body. A total of 144 city council members nationwide were included in recall efforts from January 1 through September 21, 2023, which again tops the list of elected officials included in recall efforts.
Ballotpedia identified a total of 55 mayors included in recall efforts nationwide in 2022. There were 49 tracked recall efforts over the first 264 days of 2023. After a total of 121 school board members around the nation were included in recall efforts in 2022, a total of 79 board members nationwide were included in recall efforts from January 1 through September 21, 2023.
The 2023 totals for nationwide recall efforts falls far short of the totals accumulated in 2021. A total of 540 elected officials were included in recall efforts in 2021 – approximately 200 more than the number of elected officials included in recall efforts through the first 264 days of 2023.
