Recall petitions

Voters receive direct disclosure before signing a petition circulated for pay. Recall proponents targeting a Superior Court judge in a jurisdiction with 50,000 or more registered voters have less time to submit signatures.

What the law does ​

• Requires a paid signature gatherer to orally tell each person they are paid before giving them an initiative, referendum, or recall petition to sign.
• Requires the disclosure whether or not the person asks about the gatherer’s pay.
• Sets a 120-day filing deadline for recall petitions against Superior Court judges in electoral jurisdictions with 50,000 or more registered voters.

Who it affects ​

• Paid circulators of state and local initiative, referendum, and recall petitions.
• Voters asked to sign petitions.
• Proponents seeking to recall Superior Court judges in larger electoral jurisdictions.

Breakdown ​

Paid Recall Petition Disclosure ​

SB 1369 requires paid signature gatherers to tell people out loud that they are being paid before asking them to sign a state or local initiative, referendum, or recall petition. The bill adds this spoken disclosure to the notices already required on the petition itself.

Key takeaways

• Paid signature gatherers must orally disclose that they are being paid to circulate the petition.
• The disclosure must be made before the person is given the petition to sign.
• The requirement applies to state and local initiative, referendum, and recall petitions that require voter signatures.
• The bill adds to the existing written notice that a petition may be circulated by a paid gatherer or a volunteer.

Judge Recall Petition Deadline ​

The bill sets a 120-day deadline for submitting a recall petition for a superior court judge in jurisdictions with 50,000 or more registered voters. This replaces the otherwise applicable deadline that varies based on the number of registered voters.

Key takeaways

• A recall petition for a superior court judge must be submitted within 120 days in an electoral jurisdiction with at least 50,000 registered voters.
• The 120-day period begins after the clerk notifies the petition proponents that the petition’s form and wording meet the required standards.
• This rule applies specifically to recalls of superior court judges.
• The bill replaces the variable voter-population-based submission deadline for these judge recall petitions in covered jurisdictions.