376
The Green Bag
making their aggregate vote 101,000 votes, and each one who voted at the election for any one of these ten candi dates votes "yes" on the subject of the recall. The Governor is recalled, even though out of the two hundred thous and, and against the ten candidates, there were cast ninety-nine thousand votes against the recall, and the man receiving the eleven thousand votes is elected against the man who really re ceived ninety-nine thousand on the proposition. The proposition is not nearly so large, and much more easily handled in the counties taking the officers one at a time; so it can be readily seen how the merry war will go on when it once starts. Paragraph 9 of the same section pro vides that "candidates for the office may be nominated by petition, as now pro vided by law, which petition shall be filed in the office in which petitions for nominations to office are required by law to be filed, not less than fifteen days before such recall election." Whether this should be interpreted strictly, and leave this the only manner of nomi nating for office, is not clear. Presum ably, however, in carrying out the desired end, to leave everything to the people, they should be permitted to nominate in any way known to the law. By Section 4, it is provided that "no petition shall be filed against any officer, until he has held his office six months, except a member of the legislature," who is vulnerable to attack from and after the fifth day from the convening of the legislature to which he is elected. The second paragraph of this section generously exempts the incumbent from a second attack of the recall, save by application of fifty per cent of the electorate. In Oregon the petitioners on second
recall must pay the expense of the first recall election. Paragraph three of Section 4 pro vides as follows: "If at any recall elec tion the incumbent, whose recall is sought, is not recalled, he should be repaid from the State Treasury any money authorized by law and actually expended by him as expenses of such election, and the legislature shall pro vide an appropriation for such purpose." Query: If the legislature has failed to create a fund or make an appropriation to meet contingencies of this character, would the courts enjoin the calling of any election to recall an officer until an appropriation had been made to meet the expenses of his possible victorious campaign? Section 4: "If the Governor is sought to be recalled under the provisions of this Article, the duties herein imposed upon him shall be performed by the Lieutenant-Governor; and if the Secre tary of State is sought to be recalled, the duties herein imposed upon him shall be performed by the State Auditor." The time within which such duties are to be performed is not stated. We pre sume it is pending the election, or would begin to run probably from the time the notice for the election is published. Sections 5 and 6 extend the curative provisions of this constitution to county, city and county, cities and town, etc., "under such procedure as shall be pro vided by law," and provide that until otherwise provided by law the legisla tive body in such county, city and county, city and town, etc., may provide the manner for commencing such recall petitions in such counties, cities and counties, etc., but shall not require any such recall petition to be signed by electors in number more than twentyfive per centum of the entire vote cast at the last preceding election, as in
