[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.J. Res. 71 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. J. RES. 71

Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to give 
  citizens of the United States the right to recall elected officials.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 21, 2010

   Mr. Hoekstra introduced the following joint resolution; which was 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                            JOINT RESOLUTION


 
Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to give 
  citizens of the United States the right to recall elected officials.

    Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled   (two-thirds of each House 
concurring therein), That the following article is proposed as an 
amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be 
valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when 
ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States 
within seven years after the date of its submission for ratification:

                              ``Article--

    ``Section 1. The people shall have the right to recall any person 
elected by popular vote or the electors of the various States to hold 
an office of the Federal Government.
    ``Section 2. A petition proposing the recall of an elected official 
shall be submitted to an officer of the Government of the United States 
whom the Congress shall designate by law. Each petition shall be signed 
by at least ten percent of the whole number of people voting in a given 
State or congressional district, who voted in the most recent election 
for President, or for electors for President, occurring before the date 
on which the petition is submitted to the officer designated by 
Congress. All such signatures shall be collected within the six-month 
period ending on the date the petition is submitted to the officer 
designated by the Congress.
    ``Within ninety days after a petition is submitted to the officer 
designated by the Congress, such officer shall determine the validity 
of the signatures contained in the petition. If the petition contains 
the required number of valid signatures, the officer shall certify the 
petition and shall direct the chief executive officer in each State to 
place on a ballot the question of recall before the voters in the State 
or congressional district for Members of Congress. The Congress shall 
by law establish procedures for the preparation and submission of any 
such petition and for the validation of signatures on such petition.
    ``Section 3. For the recall of Members of the Senate the recall 
election shall be held on the first Statewide election for public 
office (whether a primary election or a general election) which is held 
at least sixty days after the certification of valid signatures on such 
a petition.
    ``For the recall of Members of the House of Representatives, a 
recall election shall be held within sixty days of the certification of 
valid signatures on such a petition.
    ``Section 4. If a recall ballot under this article receives a 
majority of the votes cast in either the district or State of Members 
of Congress, the recall of the said elected official shall take effect 
immediately upon certification of vote results by the chief executive 
officer of the States.
    ``Section 5. In the event of the removal of a Member of Congress by 
recall, the chief executive officer of each of the States shall order a 
special election within the guidelines of the State.
    ``Section 6. The people in each State voting under this Article 
shall have the qualification requisite for electors of the most 
numerous branch of the State legislature. The Congress shall by law 
prescribe the manner in which the results of the voting conducted under 
this article shall be ascertained and declared.''.
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