Municipal Recall Law and Legal Definition
Municipal recall refers to a procedure by which any member of a municipality may be removed from the office by popular vote. Municipal recall begins with a municipal petition where the petition will contain names of the persons to be recalled. Reasons to recall are also stated in the petition.
The grounds for removal of elected municipal officials are :
1. Malfeasance,
2.Misfeasance,
3. Neglect of duty,
4. Drunkenness,
5. Incompetence,
6.Permanent inability to perform official duties,
7.Conviction of a felony involving moral turpitude
Only the electors of the municipality or district are eligible to sign the recall petition and are entitled to vote in a recall election.
The following is an example from the state statute (Florida) defining municipal recall:
Fla. Stat. § 100.361, any member of the governing body of a municipality or charter county, hereinafter referred "municipality," may be removed from office by the electors of the municipality. When the official represents a district and is elected only by electors residing in that district, only electors from that district are eligible to sign the petition to recall that official and are entitled to vote in the recall election. When the official represents a district and is elected at-large by the electors of the municipality, all electors of the municipality are eligible to sign the petition to recall that official and are entitled to vote in the recall election.
