The following is an enumeration for the process required to begin and fulfill a recall according to both local and California code:
1. Notice of Intention (See Source 2)
A recall for an elected officer begins with a notice of intention*, which must include the following: a.) The name and title of the officer sought to be recalled, b.) a statement not exceeding 200 words in length, of the reasons for the proposed recall, c.) the printed name, signature, and residence address** - including street and number, city, and ZIP code - of each of the proponents of the recall, and d.) the provisions of Section 11023.
A copy of the notice of intention must then be served, by personal delivery or certified mail, on the officer sought to be recalled. Within seven days of serving the copy of the notice of intention, the original notice must be filed along with an affidavit of the time and manner of service, with the elections official. Copy of the notice, except the provisions required by subdivision (d) of Section 11020, shall be published at the proponents' expense.
The officer sought to be recalled may, within seven days of the filing of the notice of intention, file with the elections official an answer not exceeding 200 words in length to the statement of the proponents. If an answer is filed, the officer shall, within seven days after the filing of the notice of intention, also serve a copy of it, by personal delivery or by certified mail, on one of the proponents named in the notice of intention. The answer must be signed and accompanied by the printed name and business or residence address of the officer sought to be recalled. The statement and answer are intended solely for the information of the voters. No insufficiency in form or substance thereof shall affect the validity of the election proceedings.
*The proponents of a recall must be registered voters of the electoral jurisdiction of the officer they seek to recall.
**If a proponent cannot receive mail at the residence address, he or she must provide an alternative mailing address. The minimum number of proponents is 10, or equal to the number of signatures required to have been filed on the nomination paper of the officer sought to be recalled, whichever is higher.
2. Petition (See Source 3)
A recall petition must be formatted according to code, including a request that an election be called to elect a successor to the officer, a copy of the notice of intention along with the statement of grounds for recall, and the answer of the officer sought to be recalled if there is one, before anyone may affix their signature to the petition. The general formatting for a recall petition are as follows:
(a) The petition sections shall be designed so that each signer shall personally affix all of the following: (1)His or her signature. (2) His or her printed name. (3)His or her residence address, giving street and number, or, if no street or number exists, adequate designation or residence so that the location may be readily ascertained. (4) The name of the incorporated city or unincorporated community in which he or she resides.
(b) A margin, at least one inch wide, shall be left blank across the top of each page of the petition. A margin, at least one-half inch wide, shall be left blank along the bottom of each page of the petition.
(c) A space, at least one inch wide, shall be left blank after each name for the use of the elections official in verifying the petition.
(d) To each section of a petition shall be attached a declaration, signed by the circulator thereof, that complies with Section 104
Furthermore, only registered voters of the electoral jurisdiction of the officer sought to be recalled are qualified to sign a recall petition for that officer. A person who meets the requirements of Section 102 may circulate the petition. When a petition is circulated in more than one county for the recall of an officer, each section of the petition shall bear the name of the county for which it is circulated, and only registered voters of that county may sign that section.
Proponents must file two blank copies of the petition with the elections official within 10 days after filing of the answer to the notice of intention, or, if no answer is filed, within 10 days after the expiration of the seven-day period specified in Section 11023. These copies must be filed at the election official's office during normal office hours as posted. Proponents must, along with the blank petitions, file proof of publication of the notice of intention, if the notice of intention was published, or an affidavit of posting of the notice of intention, if the notice of intention was posted. The elections official shall, within 10 days of receiving the blank copies of the petition, inform the proponents in writing of his or her findings. If the elections official finds that the requirements of this chapter are not met, the elections official shall include in his or her findings a statement as to what alterations in the petition are necessary. The proponents shall, within 10 days after receiving the notification, file two blank copies of the corrected petition with the elections official in his or her office during normal office hours as posted. The 10-day correction notification period and the 10-day filing period for corrected petitions shall be repeated until the elections official finds no alterations are required. No signature may be affixed to a recall petition until the elections official has notified the proponents that the form and wording of the proposed petition meet the requirements of this chapter.
Within 30 days from the date of filing of the petition, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, the elections official shall examine the petition, and from the records of registration, ascertain whether or not the petition is signed by the requisite number of voters. If the elections official’s examination shows that the number of valid signatures is greater than the required number, the elections official shall certify the petition to be sufficient*. The elections official shall attach to the petition a certificate showing the result of this examination, and shall notify the proponents of either the sufficiency or insufficiency of the petition. If the petition is found sufficient, the elections official shall certify the results of the examination to the governing board at its next regular meeting. If the elections official finds the signatures on the petition to be sufficient, he or she shall also submit his or her certificate as to the sufficiency of the petition to the governing body at its next regular meeting.
The certificate must contain: (a) The name of the officer whose recall is sought. (b) The title of his or her office. (c) The number of signatures required by law. (d) The total number of signatures on the petition. (e) The number of valid signatures on the petition. (f) The number of signatures which were disqualified
The failure to secure sufficient signatures shall not preclude the filing later of an entirely new petition to the same effect. Furthermore, if the certificate shows that the petition is insufficient, no action shall be taken on it, but the petition shall remain on file.
*If more than 500 signatures have been signed on the petition, the elections official may use a random sampling technique for verification of signatures. The random sample of signatures to be verified shall be drawn in a manner so that every signature filed with the elections official shall have an equal opportunity to be included in the sample. The random sampling shall include an examination of at least 500 or 5 percent of the signatures, whichever is greater. In determining the number of valid signatures, the elections official may also check the signatures against facsimiles of voters’ signatures, provided that the method of preparing and displaying the facsimiles complies with law.
3. Recall ElectioN (See Source 4)
Within 14 days after the meeting at which the governing body received the certificate of sufficiency as specified in Section 11227, the governing body shall issue an order stating that an election shall be held pursuant to this article to determine whether or not the officer named in the petition shall be recalled*. If the governing board fails to issue the order within the time specified in Section 11240, the county elections official, within five days, shall set the date for holding the election. If the recall is to be voted on by voters in more than one county, the elections official of the county with the largest number of registered voters who will be voting in the election shall set the date for holding the election in consultation with the elections officials of the other counties. Election shall be held not less than 88, nor more than 125, days after the issuance of the order, and if a regular or special election is to be held throughout the electoral jurisdiction of the officer sought to be recalled within this time period, the recall election shall be held on the same day, and consolidated with, the regular or special election.
The ballots for recall elections must include the following: (a) The question “Shall [name of officer sought to be recalled] be recalled (removed) from the office of [title of office]?” (b) To the right of the foregoing question, the words “Yes” and “No” on separate lines with an enclosed voting space to the right of each. (c) The names of the candidates nominated to succeed the officer sought to be recalled shall appear under each recall question. (d) Following each list of candidates, the ballot shall provide one blank line with a voting space to the right of it for the voter to write in a name not printed on the ballot.
With the voter information guide there shall be mailed for each officer whose recall is sought, a printed copy of the following**: (a) The statement of reasons for recall that appeared on the notice of intent to recall that was filed by the proponents of the recall with the elections official, or in the case of a state officer, with the Secretary of State. (b) The answer to the statement of reasons for recall that was filed by the officer whose recall is sought with the elections official or, in the case of a state officer, with the Secretary of State, if an answer was filed. (c) The printed copies of the statement and the answer to that statement shall be mailed with the sample ballot either in a document separate from the sample ballot or in the same document in which the sample ballot appears. Both the statement and answer shall be printed on the same page, or on facing pages of the document, and shall be of equal prominence.
Nominations of candidates to succeed the recalled officer shall be made in the manner prescribed for nominating a candidate to that office in a regular election insofar as that procedure is consistent with this article. The following exceptions shall be made to that procedure: (a) For recalls of local officers, the nomination papers and the declaration of candidacy shall, in each case, be filed not less than 75 days prior to the date of the election and not before the day the order of the election is issued. (b) If the elections official is required to certify to the governing board the names of the candidates to be placed on the ballot, that shall be done by the 71st day prior to the election. (c) No person whose recall is being sought may be a candidate to succeed himself or herself at a recall election nor to succeed any other member of the same governing board whose recall is being sought at the same election
A recall election shall be conducted, canvassed, and the results declared in substantially the manner provided by law for a regular election for the office. If one-half or more of the votes at a recall election are “No”, the officer sought to be recalled shall continue in office. If a majority of the votes on a recall proposal are “Yes”, the officer sought to be recalled shall be removed from office upon the qualification of his successor. If at a recall election an officer is recalled, the candidate receiving the highest number of votes for the office shall be declared elected for the unexpired term of the recalled officer. If the candidate who received the highest number of votes fails to qualify within 10 days after receiving his or her certificate of election, the office to which he or she was elected shall be vacant, and shall be filled according to law.
*A person who was subject to a recall petition may not be appointed to fill the vacancy in the office that he or she vacated and that person may not be appointed to fill any other vacancy in office on the same governing board for the duration of the term of office of the seat that he or she vacated.
**An officer whose recall is being sought may file a statement with the elections official in accordance with Section 13307, to be sent to each voter, together with the voter information guide.