Article II, Section 18 of the Oregon Constitution provides that “every public officer in Oregon is subject, as herein provided, to recall by the electors of the state or of the electoral district from which the public officer is elected.”

City Code Section 2.08.170 provides that procedures and forms for a recall petition and election shall be according to state law.

The Secretary of State's 2008 Recall Manual is available online via the Secretary of State's web site or from the City Elections Officer.

When Officials are Subject to Recall 

An elected City official must serve at least six months of the current term of office before being subject to recall.

Required Number of Signatures  

Per ORS 249.870, the number of Portland registered voters' signatures required to place a recall on the ballot is 15% of the total number of votes cast in the City for all candidates for Governor at the last gubernatorial general election. Until 2010, this number is 32,183 (15% of the 214,552 City voters who cast votes for Governor in November 2006).

Filing a Prospective Recall Petition

Page 22 of the 2008 Recall Manual has a Checklist for Filing a Sufficient Prospective Recall Petition.  The Petition for Recall (SEL 350) filing form includes space for a “statement of reasons for demanding recall”, not to exceed 200 words. 

Deadline for Petition Signature Submission

After the City Elections Officer approves signature sheets, per ORS 249.875, the chief petitioner has 90 calendar days from the prospective petition filing date to collect at least 32,183 valid signatures from Portland registered voters.

Verification of Signatures

After the signatures are submitted, the City Elections Officer has 10 days to certify the signature verification results. 

Five-Day Resignation Period

If, after verification, at least 32,183 signatures are determined to be valid, there is a five-day resignation period.  During this period, the elected official that is the subject of the recall petition may either: (a) resign; or (b) submit a “statement of justification of the public officer’s course in office”, not to exceed 200 words. 

Recall Election 

If the official does not resign, a recall election is held no later than 35 days after the end of the five-day resignation period. 

Recall Ballot 

The recall ballot contains:

• The "statement of reasons for demanding recall" as submitted by the petitioner in the prospective petition;

• The "statement of justification" as submitted by the elected official;

• A Question: “Do you vote to recall _______ from the office of _______?,” with the name of the person against whom a recall petition has been filed printed in the first blank space and the public office held by the person printed in the second blank space.

Election Results, Vacancy in Office 

If the recall election is successful, a vacancy in office occurs immediately after the City Elections Officer receives the official abstract of votes from Multnomah County Elections.  The County has 20 days by statute to deliver the abstract to the City Elections Officer.