Recall Mitt? Quinn Introduces Bill Aimed at Recalling Senators

Republican Utah state Rep. Tim Quinn has introduced a new bill which would make recalling US senators possible, in what many believe is a jab at Utah Sen. Mitt Romney.

Recalling Senators vs The Constitution

The proposed bill, should it be accepted, would allow for senators to be recalled. Although it wouldn’t be in any way easy to do so – to put a recall vote on a ballot you’d need the signatures of 25% of “the number of active voters in the state,” as well as not being able to recall any senators within the first year of their term, a year of their term’s end or a year of winning a recall election.

The bill faces quite a bit of challenges, however, specifically a constitutional issue. According to Ballotpedia, the Constitution’s framers all the way back in 1787 were thinking about this option, but it was ultimately left out of the final version of the document. Another case in 2010, in which a similar bill was proposed, was ruled against, and it’s highly unlikely that that’s going to change this time around.

Deseret News was first told by Quinn that it would help six-year term senators feel a “little more accountable to those who elected him or her,” adding that “six years is a long time.”

Many see this as an indirect swipe at Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, who’s been pressured by fellow Republicans due to his willingness to seemingly undermine President Trump at times, and his openness to the introduction of new witnesses in the Senate impeachment trial, while most Republicans are aiming for a fast acquittal.