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The Power to Recall All Elected and Appointed Officials

 

What do we as citizens of this great Republic do when our elected or appointed officials get out of line and seek to undermine or destroy our unalienable rights that are guaranteed by the Constitution of the united States of America?

Consider this:

Article 16: We hold that the people as the sovereign power reserve the right to be made aware of the actions of all elected or appointed governmental officials, while they are acting in their official capacity as servants of the people. We claim that individuals have the right to hold public officials accountable for their conduct and that interested individuals shall have access to all public records, in order that they may determine, without governmental harassment, whether such officials are properly representing them.

Article 17: We hold that all public officials who take the oath of office to uphold and sustain the Constitution of the United States of America, and who violate that oath, shall be deemed guilty of high treason and of having committed a capital crime.

Article 32: We hold that the DEATH PENALTY must be imposed as a proper punishment and deterrent for premeditated murder, forcible rape and other major acts of violence which result in mutilation of body or destruction of mind. We repeat that treason or felonious malfeasance of office on the part of any public official, appointed or elected, should be a capital crime.

Article 36: We claim that there are certain unalienable rights guaranteed by God to all men in the exercise of their free agency. These were sustained by the founding fathers and written into the Constitution. They need no interpretation, nor can they be abrogated by anyone other than God. It is not the prerogative of the President of the United States of America or any one of the Executive branch of government, nor is it the prerogative of the Congress of the United States or other legislators, nor any of the Judiciary including the Supreme Court of the United States, to abridge those rights or interpret them in any manner except as stated in the original Constitution. Moreover, the power to abridge such rights does not rest in any of the offices of any of the States; and it is the sole prerogative of the people to determine when such rights have been abridged or when they, the people, have been robbed of their agency; and it is within the power of the people to remove from office any of the officers of the Federal government or of the State who attempt by executive order or judiciary action or arbitrary interpretation to change the Constitution . Those who would unrighteously foist their will upon the people of the United States of America must be removed from office by due process of law, whether by impeachment or by initiative of the people.

The Power to Recall our elected or appointed officials is so powerful that most government officials quake at the thought. If they realized that they could be removed from their office and tried for treason and sentenced to DEATH, if such be the case, then very few, if any would dare violate that oath!

The power to recall our elected and appointed officials lies in our right to petition through the initiative process.

 

 

 

INITIATIVE, RECALL and REFERENDUM POWERS

Constitutional Powers of We the People

 

I.    CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS BY INITIATIVE.

A most important provision since the government cannot declare a law by the people unconstitutional, if the people have also changed the constitution.

(A.)    Oregon is the first state to adopt in 1902

 

II.   DIRECT INITIATIVE.

The people may propose a law by securing a sufficient number of endorsements by petition and submit it to the electorate for their final approval.

 

III.    INDIRECT INITIATIVE.

The Legislature may act upon a proposed law by the people before it may be submitted to the electorate.

 

IV.    REFERENDUM.

The people by petition may require the final approval of the electorate on measures passed by the Legislature.

(A.)    In some states, the Legislature may refer controversial issues to the electorate for their final approval.

(B.)    South Dakota the first state to adopt initiative and referendum of ordinary legislation in 1898.

V.    RECALL

The removal of public officials by petition of the electorate before the end of the official's term of office.

(A.)    Los Angeles first adopted recall in city charter 1903.

(B.)    Oregon, the state to adopt recall in 1908.

(C.)    Recall rarely used at the large city and state level and seldom succeeds, because of lack of significant signatures on the recall.

(D.)    Most commonly used at the local level (county, city, school board) and very successfully.

VI.   DIFFERENCES.

The initiative, referendum, and recall provisions and their use vary from state to state, so check your state constitutions and local laws on its use.

VII.    SUCCESS AND FAILURE.

The success or failure of any initiative, referendum, and recall depends upon the ultimate support of the people.

(A.)    Initiative.     The proposed law by the people must be something the public wants but the legislature will not provide.

(B.)    Referendum and Recall.    The Legislature must pass a very controversial law and a public official must have commited a very controverial act to outrage the public into signing a petition and voting for it.

(C.)     All three types of petitions require a very dedicated organization to successfully get issues on the ballot.

The following is an example of the Montana Constitution Recall Amendment that was placed on the ballot in 1988 by the Independent Americans.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:

 

Section 1.     Article III of The Constitution of the State of Montana is amended by adding a new section 10 that reads:

Section 10.     Recall of public officers.    (1)    Any public officer, whether elected or appointed, is subject to recall for any reason by vote of the people at any time after the 60th day in such office.

(2)     To qualify for a recall ballot, a petition shall be filed with the city clerk, county clerk and recorder, or secretary of state, as appropriate, and shall be signed by the following percentage of qualified electors voting in the immediately preceding general election:

(a)     for a state public officer at least 7%;

(b)     for a county public officer (including legislative districts and other districts that transcend county boundaries) at least 10%: and

(c)     for a public officer of a local goverment unit not included in subsection (2) (b) at least 15%

(3)     A recall election may be placed on the ballot at a general or special election or at a special election held solely for that purpose.  A special election shall be held not more than 30 after verification that sufficient signatures have been filed, unless fewer that 60 days remains until the general election, in which case the recall election shall be placed on the ballot at the general election.  Signatures shall be verified within 30 days of submission.

(4)     No burdensome condition of petition or cause for recall may be imposed by law.  The sufficiency of any statement of reasons or grounds asserted for recall is a political rather than a judicial question.

Section 2.     Effective date.  This amendment is effective January 1, 1989

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