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 The Recall in Colorado

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vacancy, however, shall hold only until bent shall be removed upon the quali the qualification of the person elected fication of his successor. No vote is at the recall election. If, however, the cast expressly for the incumbent. So person sought to be recalled does not it will be observed that if all those vot resign within five days after the petition ing for the candidates whose names are seeking his recall is held sufficient, the placed on the ballot desire that their Governor shall cause the publication of candidate should be elected, and prefer the notice of holding the election, and him to the incumbent, they should vote the officers charged with duties pertain "yes" on the recall, which they will ing to elections shall proceed as in other understand they must do in order to elections. On the official ballot shall remove the incumbent, for the individual be set forth the reasons mentioned in preference and the affirmative votes for the petition for demanding the recall, those several candidates should aggre and in not more than three hundred gate a majority of the votes ballotted, words shall be printed, if desired by the even though the majority of the people officer, his justification of his course in voting might prefer the incumbent to any person nominated against him, and office. It is well to note here the privilege would so express themselves if the incum so benignly bestowed on the incumbent bent were placed on the ticket with any in the shape of one hundred words more one or more of the candidates named. of argument than his assailant is allowed, For paragraph 8 of the section provides : because, as the other provisions of the "If the vote at any such recall election amendment are examined, his need of shall recall the officer, then the candi this privilege becomes obvious. date who has received the highest num The form of the ballot is provided for ber of votes for the office thereby vacated in the amendment. shall be declared elected for the re Then in Section 4 clearly appears the mainder of the term, and a certificate of rough road the recalled one has to travel. election shall be forthwith issued to It provides that on the ballot under him." the question asking whether or not the To illustrate, let us suppose we wish incumbent shall be recalled shall be to remove the Governor. Suppose our printed the names of those candidates vote on that office is 200,000. It was who have been nominated to succeed more last year, but we take the easier the person sought to be recalled; and number for illustration. This would re that no vote shall be counted for any quire a petition of fifty thousand names candidate for such office unless the voter to start the recall. After the petition is also vote, for or against the recall of held sufficient, we have up to fifteen days such person sought to be recalled from for the election in which to file nom said office. Here comes the stinger: inations of candidates. If we are really "The name of the person against whom anxious to get rid of the Governor, we the petition is filed shall not appear will take a favored son from every popu on the ballot as a candidate for the lous portion of the state, and just as many of them as we like. Let us sup office." If a majority of those voting on such pose we have a vote of two hundred question of recall shall vote "no," the thousand and we have ten candidates; incumbent shall continue in office. If a nine of them get ten thousand votes each, one of them gets eleven thousand, majority shall vote "yes," the incum