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HomeElections CodeDiv. 11Ch. 3Art. 2§ 11221 Recall Signature Requirements

§ 11221 Recall Signature Requirements

Elections Code·California
AI Summary·Official Text·Key Terms·Related Statutes·References
AI SummaryVerified

§ 11221 Recall Signature Requirements

This law tells you how many people must sign a petition to put a recall on the ballot, based on the kind of official and how many voters are registered in that area.

Key Takeaways

  • •The needed signatures are a set percent of registered voters, and the percent gets smaller as the voter pool gets bigger.
  • •Use the most recent registration count reported by the county elections official.
  • •State officers and judges follow a different rule from the California Constitution, and land‑owner districts need signatures from owners of at least 10 % of the land’s assessed value.

Example

A city council member is being recalled in a town that has 8,200 registered voters.

Because the town has between 1,000 and 10,000 registered voters, the law says you need at least 25 % of them to sign. That means you must collect 2,050 signatures before the recall can appear on the ballot.

How to Calculate

Required signatures = (Percent required) × (Number of registered voters)

  1. Find out how many voters are registered in the area (the latest number the county elections office reported).
  2. Look at the list in the law to see which percentage matches that registration total.
  3. Multiply the percentage (as a decimal) by the number of registered voters to get the minimum number of signatures needed.

Recall of a school district officer in a district with 42,000 registered voters.

Result: Required signatures = 0.20 × 42,000 = 8,400 signatures

AI-generated — May contain errors. Not legal advice. Always verify source.

Official Source
View on CA.gov

§ 11221 Recall Signature Requirements

The number of qualified signatures required in order to qualify a recall for the ballot shall be as follows: (a) In the case of an officer of a city, county, school district, community college district, county board of education, or resident voting district, the number of signatures shall be equal in number to not less than the following percent of the registered voters in the electoral jurisdiction: (1) Thirty percent if the registration is less than 1,000. (2) Twenty-five percent if the registration is less than 10,000 but at least 1,000. (3) Twenty percent if the registration is less than 50,000 but at least 10,000. (4) Fifteen percent if the registration is less than 100,000 but at least 50,000. (5) Ten percent if the registration is 100,000 or above. (b) For purposes of this section, the number of registered voters shall be calculated as of the time of the last report of registration by the county elections official to the Secretary of State pursuant to Section 2187, and prior to the finding by the elections official or Secretary of State that no alterations are required in the form of the recall petition pursuant to Section 11042. (c) (1) In the case of a state officer, including judges of courts of appeal and trial courts, the number of signatures shall be as provided for in subdivision (b) of Section 14 of Article II of the California Constitution. In the case of a judge of a superior court, which office has never appeared on the ballot since its creation, or did not appear on the ballot at its last election pursuant to Section 8203, the number of signatures shall be as provided in subdivision (b) of Section 14 of Article II of the California Constitution, except that the percentage shall be based on the number of votes cast within the judicial jurisdiction for the countywide office which had the least number of votes in the most recent general election in the county in which the judge holds his or her office. (2) For purposes of this subdivision, “countywide office” means an elective office wholly within the county which is voted on throughout the county. (d) In the case of a landowner voting district, signatures of voters owning at least 10 percent of the assessed value of land within the electoral jurisdiction of the officer sought to be recalled. (Amended by Stats. 2002, Ch. 784, Sec. 97. Effective January 1, 2003.)

Last verified: January 10, 2026

Key Terms

qualified signaturesrecallelectoral jurisdiction

Related Statutes

  • § 11223 Recall Petition County Certification
  • § 11200 Local Officer Recall Rules
  • § 11201 Recall Officer Duties Transfer
  • § 11220 Recall Petition Filing Deadlines
  • § 11222 Petition Filing Requirements

References

  • Official text at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
  • California Legislature. Elections Code. Section 11221.
View Official Source