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Thanks again for signing the petition to recall Tim Walz. Here's some quick info on recall in Minnesota.

Minnesota Secretary of State is the office that handles recalls.

What is recall?

• Recall is a process by which state-elected officials may be removed from office before the end of their term.
• It is authorized by Minnesota Statutes, chapter 211C, and article 8, section 6 of the Minnesota Constitution.
• It has been available since 1996, but no state officials have been subject to a recall election to date.

Who may be recalled?

• State representatives, state senators, the governor, the lieutenant governor, the secretary of state, the state auditor, the attorney general, supreme court judges, court of appeals judges, and district judges are all subject to recall.
• (Minnesota law also allows for recall of certain county officials. That process is not covered here. For more information see Minnesota Statutes, sections 351.14 to 351.23.)

What actions constitute grounds for recall?

A recall is permitted for “malfeasance,” “nonfeasance,” and “serious crime.”

• Malfeasance means intentionally doing something unlawful or wrong while performing duties of the office; the act must be substantially outside of the scope of duties and substantially infringe upon another’s rights.
• Nonfeasance means intentionally and repeatedly not performing the required duties of the office.
• Serious crime means a crime that is a gross misdemeanor and involves assault, intentional injury, the threat of injury, dishonesty, stalking, aggravated driving while intoxicated, coercion, obstruction of justice, or the sale or possession of controlled substances. Serious crime also means a misdemeanor crime that involves assault, intentional injury or threat of injury, dishonesty, coercion, obstruction of justice, or the sale or possession of controlled substances. An individual who is convicted of a felony is automatically removed from office, so a felony conviction is not specified as grounds for recall.

Minnesota Statutes outline the grounds for recall for state officers, excluding judges. The Minnesota Supreme Court has adopted the same standards for recall for judges as were set for state officers, with the exception that judges may not be recalled for the discretionary performance of a lawful act or a prescribed duty.

Are there restrictions on the recall process?

• A person may not falsely allege wrongdoing by a state officer in a recall petition, or threaten, intimidate, coerce, or bribe eligible voters to sign or not sign a petition.
• A recall election may not be held if there are fewer than six months remaining in an official’s term. Only one recall petition may be active for any one office at a time.

Source:

Gehring, Matt. “Recall of State Elected Officials.” Www.House.Mn.Gov The Research Department of the Minnesota House of Representatives, 2011, https://www.house.mn.gov/hrd/pubs/ss/ssrecall.pdf.