Certified petition to recall Idaho Gov. Little filed, calling him ‘arrogant in power’
A certified petition to recall Republican Gov. Brad Little has been filed with the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office, revolving largely around the governor’s stay-home order in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
The petition was signed by 20 voters, led by Jennifer Zehner, and comes after Little received criticism, mostly from right-wing Idahoans, for mandating a stay-home order to keep people safe during a pandemic. Most of the signatures came from Post Falls and Hayden.
The certified petition is only an initial step in the process of recalling a statewide officeholder, according to the Secretary of State’s Office website.
To recall a governor in Idaho, the petition must be signed by registered voters equal in number to 20 percent of the electors who were registered to vote in the general election in which the governor was elected. In this case, that’s 183,523 people who will need to sign. The signatures must be submitted to the secretary of state by Aug. 11.
If the petition has enough verified signatures, a special election could be held on recalling Little.
The petition claims that Little has “abused the trust of the citizens by willfully ignoring our grievances and turning a deaf ear to our representatives.” The petition further alleges that Little’s “unilateral actions have irrevocably damaged our financial stability, cherished freedoms and trust in our system of government.”
Petitioners go on to say that they were treated as “second-class citizens, termed ‘non-essential’ and forced out of their jobs and businesses.” It goes on to allege that Little “colluded” with politicians outside of the state instead of working with legislators, the lieutenant governor and mayors.
“He has shown himself to be arrogant in power,” the petition states.
Like governors nationwide, Little responded to the coronavirus pandemic by issuing various stay-home orders that limited travel for some, closed businesses and ended big gatherings. The Republican has received criticism from the far right of his own party and praise from many residents for taking action. The state is now in Stage 3 of Little’s reopening plan, and as of Wednesday, almost all businesses in Idaho are allowed to reopen.
The criticism has included attacks from GOP lawmakers and Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin. A common cry from critics has been that Little’s actions were unconstitutional, but the Idaho Attorney General’s Office issued an opinion saying that it was within the constitutional authority of the governor to issue the orders during a state of emergency.
There were 2,663 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Idaho as of Tuesday, and 83 people had died as a result COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.
The Idaho Statesman reached out to the governor’s office for comment on Wednesday afternoon but did not receive an immediate response.
