Elections Administrator Breaks Down Possibilities For Potential Recall Elections Against Mayor, City Reps

El Paso County Elections Administrator Javier Chacon is fielding phone calls from El Pasoans who are curious about the possibility of recall elections against the mayor and two city representatives.

“My office has been swamped with phone calls,” he said. “(People want to know) when it’s going to be held, if it’s going to be held in November.”

Not so fast. Before the recall process moves forward, the municipal clerk must verify all the signatures gathered in the petition paperwork needed to request a recall election. Provided that paperwork is valid, Chacon said the next step is for the city of El Paso to determine the election date.

However, the city can not call for a recall election whenever it wants. Chacon said recall elections must take place in November or May as per state statutes. He said it’s unlikely a recall election would take place this November because of filing deadlines.

“All of these deadlines are already passing and the (petition) signatures are still being verified. It may not be in time to call the election in November of this year,” he said.

The outlook does not look good for a May 2012 recall, either. “May elections are going to be in jeopardy,” said Chacon. He explained his department is not required to put on any kind of special election next May. The Texas Secretary of State’s website confirms this.

Chacon explained his department is already putting on the Democratic and Republican primary runoff elections on May 22. He said the proximity of that election combined with new bills that push up deadlines and call for greater training for poll workers make it difficult for his department to commit to a city or district-wide special election.

“You haven’t even finished one election when you’re already starting another election and so now everything comes into play: the equipment, all the supplies, the man power to train and reassemble everything in a matter of days,” said Chacon.

Bottom line: provided the recall process moves forward, a recall election may not even be likely until November 2012. One exception is if the city decided to run its own recall elections without the county election department’s help. Chacon explained that would be very expensive as the city would have to hire an outside vendor to take care of the particulars. He said city council would have to approve the measure.

Dates aside, Chacon explained the cost of a recall election would vary. “It can be small from $25,000 all the way to $250,000 and beyond that.” Chacon said it would depend on how many recall elections were to take place and whether run-off elections needed to happen for the elections to fill the vacancies on city council due to the recall.