The Edmonton Journal has a story by Michele Taylor called, “What you need to know about Alberta’s recall law“.
From the article:
Under the law, any eligible voter who has lived in a constituency for at least three months can apply to start a recall petition. The applicant must pay a $500 fee, show identification, and submit a statement of no more than 100 words explaining why the MLA should be recalled. The chief electoral officer, who oversees Elections Alberta, has seven days to approve or reject the application.
If approved, organizers have 90 days to gather signatures from registered voters in that constituency. Only registered local canvassers can collect signatures, and each must swear an affidavit confirming that they personally witnessed every signature. To succeed, the petition must collect valid signatures from at least 60 per cent of the voters who cast ballots in the most recent provincial election, which was changed from 40 per cent of total registered voters.
If that enormous threshold is met, Elections Alberta verifies the petition and publishes the results. The Lieutenant Governor in Council — effectively, the provincial cabinet — must then declare a recall vote within four months. If a simple majority of voters say “yes” to removing the MLA, the seat is declared vacant, and a byelection follows.
I’ve been talking with other concerned residents of Lethbridge East and learning how to enact a recall for our representative that voted to strip teachers’ charter rights away with Bill 2 when there were many other options to get teachers back in the classroom. Stay tuned.