Athens-Clarke County recall, Georgia (2024)

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Athens-Clarke County recall

Officeholders
Kelly Girtz
John Williams
Deborah Gonzalez
Recall status
Did not go to a vote
Signature requirement
30% of registered voters
See also
Recall overview
Political recall efforts, 2024
Recalls in Georgia
Georgia recall laws
Mayoral recalls
Recall reports

An effort to recall Athens Mayor Kelly Girtz, Clarke County Sheriff John Williams and Western Judicial Circuit District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez did not go to a vote in Athens-Clarke County, Georgia.

## Contents

* 1 Recall supporters
* 2 Recall opponents
* 3 Path to the ballot
* 4 Recall context
* 5 See also
* 6 External links
* 7 Footnotes

## Recall supporters[edit]

The recall effort was organized by Athens resident James DePaola, also known as James Lee, after the February 2024 death of Athens nursing student Laken Riley. Athens Banner-Herald reported that DePaola said the officials were being targeted for recall for "allowing illegal aliens to freely roam our county." Jose Antonio Ibarra, who was residing in the United States without legal permission, was charged with the murder of Riley.[1]

## Recall opponents[edit]

Girtz filed a petition with the county superior court to request a review the recall for sufficiency. Girtz described the grounds for recall as "vague allegations that are legally insufficient."[2] On July 19, 2024, Judge J. David Roper dismissed Girtz's petition for a review because it had been filed too late as prescribed by state law.[3]

## Path to the ballot[edit]

See also: Laws governing recall in Georgia

Georgia allows the following grounds for recall: conducted himself or herself in a manner that adversely affects the administration of his or her office and adversely affects the rights and interests of the public; malfeasance while in office; violated his or her oath of office; misconduct; failure to perform duties prescribed by law; and willfully misused, converted, or misappropriated, without authority, public property or public funds entrusted to or associated with the elective office to which the official has been elected or appointed.[4] To get the recall on the ballot, supporters must collect signatures equal to 30% of the number of electors who were registered and qualified to vote in the preceding election for that office. Signatures must be collected within 90 days.[5][6]

## Recall context[edit]

See also: Ballotpedia's Recall Report

Ballotpedia covers recall efforts across the country for all state and local elected offices. A recall effort is considered official if the petitioning party has filed an official form, such as a notice of intent to recall, with the relevant election agency.

The chart below shows how many officials were included in recall efforts from 2012 to 2024 as well as how many of them defeated recall elections to stay in office and how many were removed from office in recall elections.

## See also[edit]

* Recall campaigns in Georgia
* Political recall efforts, 2024
* Mayoral recalls
* County official recalls

## External links[edit]

* Search Google News for this topic
* Government website of Athens-Clarke County, Georgia

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ Athens Banner-Herald, "Enough sign for recall effort to move forward against Athens mayor, sheriff, district attorney," April 2, 2024
2. ↑ Athens Banner-Herald, "Athens Mayor Kelly Girtz petitions Superior Court to suspend recall effort against him," April 25, 2024
3. ↑ Athens Banner-Herald, "Judge dismisses Athens mayor's petition against recall effort; recall seeker must start over," July 23, 2024
4. ↑ 2022 Georgia Code, "§ 21-4-3 (2022)," accessed October 16, 2023
5. ↑ 2022 Georgia Code, "§ 21-4-4 (2022)," accessed October 16, 2023
6. ↑ 2022 Georgia Code, "§ 21-4-11 (2022)," accessed October 16, 2023

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