18 October 2018 — 1427 mdt

A recall election is not the remedy for MT SecST Stapleton’s blunders

Corey Stapleton began his tenure as Montana’s Secretary of State by launching a jihad against an enemy that existed almost entirely in his mind, and only in his mind: voter fraud. After Montana’s county clerks and elections administrators set him straight on that, he segued into a well intentioned, but not adroitly administered, campaign to promote the correct casting of absentee ballots.

This fall Stapleton had the bad fortune to preside over the distribution of a flawed voter information pamphlet. Due to what probably was a proofreading blunder, some of the ballot measure language in the VIP omitted strikethrus and underlines, requiring sending out a correction in an addendum that cost $265,000 to produce and mail. It wasn’t, insofar as I can determine, misconduct. It was just a massive screw-up, embarrassing to Stapleton, exasperating to the voters, and expensive for the taxpayers.

Now there are calls for his resignation, and if he refuses to resign, to remove him through a recall election.

That’s not a good idea.

At this point, a recall election is bound to fail. Stapleton’s tenure as MT SecST has been neither smooth nor distinguished, but it’s not been a criminal operation or so incompetent that only his immediate removal can prevent catastrophic and irreversible damage to Montana’s government.

Even if a convincing case for a recall election could be made, the probability that one would succeed are perishingly small. Would be recallers should study the failed attempt to recall Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.

But there is an effective way to limit Stapleton’s tenure at SecST: defeating him in the 2020 election if he’s nominated for another term. Instead of circulating recall petitions, his detractors should recruit and get behind a strong candidate to replace him.