Tim Walz recall, Governor of Minnesota (2020)

2020 Tim Walz recall: Governor of Minnesota
Recall status
First recall (ended) Second recall (ended) Third recall (ended)
Table of contents
Recall supporters Recall opponents Election history Path to the ballot
See also
External links Footnotes

Three efforts to recall Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) were launched in 2020. All three recall efforts were dismissed by the Minnesota Supreme Court.^[1]

Walz was elected as Minnesota's governor in 2018 with 53.8% of the vote. Mark Dayton (D) served as governor from 2011 to 2019.

To read about other recall efforts related to the coronavirus and government responses to the pandemic, click here.

Recall supporters[edit]

First recall effort (ended)[edit]

The Recall Tim Walz group filed the recall on May 21, 2020. The recall website listed the following reasons for recall:

“	Governor Walz and his fear-mongering accomplices took advantage of the COVID-19 situation to enact broad, arbitrary, and damaging orders that have quickly proven to be a cure worse than the disease. As we will prove in our Recall Case, Walz went beyond the scope of his emergency powers in doing so. Further, we will prove he is guilty of Malfeasance, as defined in MN Statute, Chapter 211: “Malfeasance" means the intentional commission of an unlawful or wrongful act … in the performance of the officer's duties that is substantially outside the scope of the authority of the officer and that substantially infringes on the rights of any person or entity.[2]	”
—Tim Walz recall website[3]

Petition dismissed by the Minnesota Supreme Court[edit]

The recall petition was sent to the Minnesota Supreme Court for review.^[4] On June 15, 2020, the supreme court dismissed the recall petition. Chief Justice Lorie Gildea wrote that the recall petition did not meet the legal standards to recall an elected official.^[5]

Second recall effort (ended)[edit]

A second recall petition was introduced in July 2020 against Gov. Walz. The petition listed the following reasons for recall:

“	We hereby petition for the recall of Governor Tim Walz due to the intentional misuse of his executive authority constituting serious malfeasance of office. Walz acted illegally and substantially outside the scope of the governor's authority when he declared a Peacetime Emergency by classifying COVID-19 as an "Act of Nature". Walz then substantially infringed on the constitutional rights of many Minnesotans by issuing executive orders, with the purported force of law afforded during a Peacetime Emergency, infringing upon peaceful assembly and the free expression of religion as demonstrated by the mayor of New Brighton threatening church attendees with arrest and citing the executive orders as her underlying authority. Furthermore, Walz violated the non-delegation doctrine of the State Constitution by creating new crimes and penalties when he deemed it a gross misdemeanor for owners or supervisors to encourage employees to participate in the reopening of businesses. Many businesses, including Shady's Bars and Restaurants, and Title Boxing, remained closed due to the fear of the "up to one year in prison" penalty that Walz's newly conceived "crime" carried. Walz's actions specifically show a knowing, intentional, and substantial infringement on constitutional rights to due process of law and just compensation paid and secured before damage or destruction of private property for public good. More specifically, on or about May 13, 2020, Petitioner Mergen desired to open his restaurant by calling his employees back to work, but was prevented from doing so due to his reasonable fear of Governor Walz's penalties established in Walz's Executive Order. Similarly, on or about May 15, Petitioner Royce desired to open his gym by calling his employees back to work, but was prevented from doing so due to his reasonable fear of Governor Walz's penalties established in Walz's Executive Order. Both Petitioners have suffered economic harm by the continuing and wrongful forced shuttering of their businesses. Taken as a whole, Walz's knowing and intentional conduct rises to the level of serious malfeasance of office warranting his recall.[2]	”
—Tim Walz proposed recall petition[6]

Petition dismissed by the Minnesota Supreme Court[edit]

On August 13, 2020, Chief Justice Lorie Gildea dismissed the recall effort. She said that the recall effort did not meet the legal standards to recall an elected official.^[7]

Third recall effort (ended)[edit]

A third recall petition was introduced in September 2020 against Gov. Walz.^[8] The recall effort criticized Walz of breaking multiple state statutes over shelter-in-place rules instituted to stop the spread of coronavirus. After the recall petition was submitted, the group made the following statement:

“	Yesterday, courageous Minnesotans submitted a third proposed petition to recall Walz. The first two petitions, as many may be aware, failed because, in part, the Court did not find Walz acted contrary to substantive, legal precedent. This Petition establishes that Walz, in mandating face coverings under EO 20-81, acted contrary to substantive legal precedent. This time, the Court cannot ignore Walz’s brazen misconduct. As this Petition explains, Walz has acted unlawfully by giving himself the power to usurp and suspend three Minnesota statutes. Two statutes are even within the Emergency Management Law. In particular, Walz’s face covering mandate requires Minnesota to violate Minn. Stat. § 609.735, which criminally prohibits face coverings unless, as relevant here, for medical treatment. If Walz argues the face coverings are treatment, then he violates Minn. Stat. § 12.39 prohibiting the governor from mandating treatment. Finally, Walz ignores Minn. Stat. § 12.32, which does not allow the Governor to suspend statutes even during a declared emergency. We are hopeful that court gives this petition the fair review it deserves, as we continue fighting on behalf of all freedom loving Minnesotans. As a reminder, the recall is about justice – forcing Walz to personally answer for the tyranny he has imposed for months on end, with no end in sight. Expect an update around mid-October; until then please stay tuned for continued guidance on how to help liberty win at the polls this November! We are thankful for those continuing this fight, those supporting us, and those fighting on other fronts, in both state and federal courts.[2]	”
—Recall Governor Tim Walz press release[9]

Petition dismissed by the Minnesota Supreme Court[edit]

On October 12, 2020, Chief Justice Lorie Gildea dismissed the recall effort. She said that the recall effort did not meet the legal standards to recall an elected official.^[10]

Path to the ballot[edit]

See also: Laws governing recall in Minnesota

First, a "Proposed Recall Petition" must be submitted to the Minnesota Secretary of State specifying the grounds upon which the official should be recalled, which must be one of the following: Malfeasance, Nonfeasance or Serious Crime. These are Malfeasance, which means that a state official acted unlawfully in their duties as a state official; Nonfeasance, which means a state official failed to perform his duties; and Serious Crime, which means that the official committed a gross misdemeanor or felony. If it cannot be proven that the official has committed one of these acts, it is impossible to recall them. If the petition is for a statewide office, it must also include 25 signatures of Minnesota residents who are eligible to vote. The signatures are then checked by the Secretary of State and, if verified, are sent to the Minnesota Supreme Court.

The Court then has 10 days to decide if the grounds for recall stated in the petition are sufficient and meet statutory requirements. If the requirements are met a "Special Master" is appointed to hold a public hearing to decide if the allegations in the grounds for recall are true. The Special Master then submits a report to the Supreme Court regarding the truth of the allegations. The Supreme Court will then accordingly decide, based on the report, whether or not the grounds are true, and if they are, the court will order the secretary of state to issue a recall petition.

Petitioners will have 90 days to gather signatures of 25 percent of the number of votes cast for the affected office in the previous election. Once the signatures have been gathered they will be returned to the Secretary of State for verification. If the signatures meet the verification requirements the petition will be sent to the governor and a recall election date will be set.

The election will be a simple "Yes"/"No" ballot in which "Yes" is for the recall and "No" is against. The election will be held in conjunction with a general election if possible. If the recall passes the office will be vacant and an election to fill it will be set.

Election history[edit]

2018[edit]

See also: Minnesota gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2018

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Christopher Seymore (Independent)

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Tina Liebling (D)

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Christopher Chamberlin (R)
• Nikolay Nikolayevich Bey (R)
• Bob Carney Jr. (R)

Historical governor recalls[edit]

From 2003 to 2019, Ballotpedia tracked 57 gubernatorial recall efforts against 19 governors. During that time, two recalls made the ballot and one governor was successfully recalled. Former California Gov. Gray Davis (D) was recalled by voters in 2003. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) was chosen as Davis' replacement. The only other governor to ever be successfully recalled was former North Dakota Gov. Lynn Frazier (R) in 1921. In 2012, Wisconsin voted to retain former Gov. Scott Walker (R) in the recall election. He received 53.1% of the vote.

See also[edit]

• Recall campaigns in Minnesota
• Political recall efforts, 2020
• Gubernatorial recalls

External links[edit]

• Recall Tim Walz - Recall Governor Tim Walz website
• Recall Tim Walz - Recall Governor Tim Walz Facebook page
• Office of Gov. Walz

Footnotes[edit]

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