Saturday, March 7, 2015

Is it time to begin organizing a #RecallScroogeMcDucey campaign?

Unless I'm miscalculating or wrongly understanding Arizona Revised Statutes § 19-202, as of today we have 120 days to go before a recall of the new governor of our state can officially begin.

The last couple of weeks, after citizen protests began at the Capitol, Arizonans have begun to grasp the tangible ramifications of electing Scrooge McDucey and are becoming outraged.

To consider the feasibility of a recall movement, first evaluate the bottom line facts. From Friday's post,
That 25 percent threshold, according to the official canvass of the 2014 general election is (1,506,315 X .25) = 376,579 valid signatures. So, if for every person (man, woman, child) that showed up yesterday, they (or somebody) collected at least 400 valid signatures each, we would get the governor back on the ballot well before 2018. That's not an impossible goal. Difficult for sure, but not impossible.
From the Arizona Secretary of State's website, the current voter registration numbers for Arizona as a whole:

  • Total 3,247,175 
  • Americans Elect Party 461
  • Democrats 933,883
  • Green 5,051
  • Libertarian 27,706
  • Republican 1,113,991
  • Other/Independent 1,167,083
The total number of voters who cast ballots in November 2014 equaled 1,537,671 (47.52 percent).

Consider the scale of the effort it would take to collect more than 400,000 signatures. Typically, at least a 20 percent margin of error (cushion above the 376,579 valid signature requirement) can be reasonably expected. That puts the target at 450,000 signatures that should be collected.

To fund the logistics necessary to accomplish that goal, I would think at least a couple of millions of dollars must be raised.

In the wake of the abusive budget process, I'm confident there are plenty of citizens ready to jump in and try to make it happen. I don't know how many of those have sketched out what it will take to succeed.

If McDucey pivots and moderates his first year budget cutting agenda, that could take the edge off of the collective energy that is now building. If he does not, then it becomes a matter of organizing the people and the resources to make it happen.

Expect that since the course McDucey's on is desired by the Koch Empire, he will be able to raise substantial funds to save his ass (and his elected office). 

The first thing opponents of a recall will try to do is infiltrate whatever committee might form for the recall and cause confusion and division. This much is a given. It's not a maybe. Oh, and don't expect McDucey to be intimidated by this.

Now, with all of this in mind, let's see what happens over the next month or so.

5 comments:

  1. We need leadership now , please read that as a viable recall petition right now. Waiting only serves to disperse momentum of an intensely fired-up base of supporters to get Ducey recalled.

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  2. Arizona EagletarianMarch 10, 2015 at 3:17 PM

    Read what as a viable recall petition right now? There is NO viable recall petition right now.

    Pursuant to Arizona law, an official recall cannot begin until July. Petitions started on change.org or moveon.org or credo don't count.

    If you want to recall Scrooge McDucey, an organizing committee must be established and substantial amounts of money raised.

    As far as concern for momentum stemming from the McDucey budget fiasco on Friday night/Saturday morning, the only way it maintains long enough to make an actual recall movement viable is if the governor continues to thumb his nose at the electorate.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I did understand all of what you have restated from the first time I read what you wrote. While the law may stay the start of a recall, a case could easily be made for an exception based on an argument that waiting causes us immediate damage and denies the folks that want this Duce/bag out of office "due process". The law doesn't need to be changed simply an exception granted. I'm sure there are attorneys that would take a look at this pro bono and if not we can raise the money.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Arizona EagletarianMarch 10, 2015 at 5:46 PM

    Let me know if you find that pro bono attorney who wants to pursue an exception.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Facebook Has Two RECALL Arizona Governor Doug Ducey Pages Correction Three http://www.americanfreedombybarbara.com/2015/03/facebook-has-two-recall-arizona.html











    1. Facebook now has TWO RECALL Arizona Governor Doug Ducey Started
    2015
    Arizona deserves better. Our children
    need us to defend their future from leaders without any concern for their well
    being.

    ReplyDelete