Out of the 437 elected officials named in recall efforts in 2026, 35 had been removed from office in a recall election as of Oct. 2, a success rate of 8%. That rate is lower than the 16% success rate Ballotpedia tracked from 2010 to 2025. The highest success rate occurred in 2011, when 83 of the 308 officials targeted for recall were removed from office in a recall election, a success rate of 27%. The lowest success rate occurred in 2021, when 25 of the 545 officials targeted for recall were removed from office in a recall election, a success rate of 5%.
A political recall is the process by which citizens can remove elected officials from office before their term is completed. This process typically includes the circulation of petitions by recall organizers, the evaluation of signatures by election officials, and a public vote if the petitions are deemed to have a sufficient number of valid signatures. The details of the recall process vary from state to state. Click here to learn about the laws governing recalls in each state.
