Sharon MacDonell recall, Michigan House of Representatives (2023-2024)

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Rep. Sharon MacDonell recall
Officeholders
Sharon MacDonell (D)
Recall status
2 Did not go to a vote
Signature requirement
Signatures equal to 25% of voters in the state House district in the last gubernatorial election
See also
Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2024 Recalls in Michigan Michigan recall laws State legislative recalls Recall reports

An effort to recall Sharon MacDonell, a member of the Democratic Party, from her elected position representing District 56 in the Michigan House of Representatives was launched in August 2023. The Michigan Board of State Canvassers met on August 21, 2023, to hold a clarity and factual hearing on the recall's petition language. The board approved the petition for circulation on a 3-0 vote. The approved recall petition was appealed to the state Court of Appeals on August 29. The court dismissed the appeal on October 11, 2023. The recall petition was valid for 180 days from the date of the appeal—or no later than April 5, 2024. To initiate a recall election, supporters of the recall effort had to submit signatures of at least 25% of the votes cast in the state House district in the last governor’s race within a 60-day period. The required signatures were not submitted to recall MacDonell.

Proponents of the second recall effort criticized MacDonell over her vote in favor of House Bill 4145.

On August 1, 2023, the Michigan Board of State Canvassers met to discuss a recall petition against MacDonell that was filed on July 14, 2023. The board rejected that recall petition for circulation on a 2-2 vote.

MacDonell was elected to the state House in 2022. She defeated Mark Gunn (R) in the general election with 57.9% of the vote.

Recall supporters

First recall petition

Michael T. Ross filed the recall petition against state Rep. MacDonell on July 14, 2023. The official language of the recall petition said, "On April 13, 2023, State Representative Sharon MacDonell voted yes on Michigan House Bill 4145."

According to The Detroit News, Ross expressed his frustration with MacDonell, stating that she refused to engage in conversations with him about addressing issues related to troubled families and marriages within the state. Ross provided an alternate reason for the recall, acknowledging that his perspectives on family and marriage were probably not enough to get MacDonell recalled in the district. He said, "The thing that will rally people to sign petitions is that they — the conservatives — do not want to be disarmed."

House Bill 4145 only passed the House, but its Senate equivalent was signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) in May 2023. The bill established a extreme risk protection order law, which allows family members, household members, and law enforcement officers to petition a court to restrict an individual's access to firearms. If the court finds that the person presents a danger to him- or herself or others, the person must surrender his or her firearms to law enforcement officials and is prohibited from buying, selling, or possessing firearms for a certain amount of time.

On August 1, 2023, the Board of State Canvassers rejected the recall petition for circulation on a 2-2 vote.

Second recall petition

Michael T. Ross refiled the recall petition against state Rep. MacDonell in August 2023. The basis for the recall petition was MacDonell's affirmative vote on House Bill 4145. The Senate version of the same bill was enacted into law by Governor Whitmer in May 2023. The legislation permits both relatives and law enforcement to request court intervention to restrict an individual's access to firearms. On August 21, 2023, the Board of State Canvassers approved the recall petition for circulation on a 3-0 vote.

Recall opponents

After the first recall was announced, MacDonell posted on Facebook the following response:

“

Over the past 7 months, I have worked hard to represent my community. The 102nd Michigan Legislature has passed more bills in the first 6 months than in the previous 6 years combined. I am proud of my votes, and will continue to serve the needs of the people of District 56, and all of Michigan. As a last ditch effort to subvert democracy, we are seeing a movement by some to disregard the will of the people by using recall procedures to disrupt our elections process. I am grateful for the overwhelming support of the Democratic caucus and local community, and I can assure you that I will not be deterred from doing my job, which is to represent the great people of District 56.

”

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing recall in Michigan

Election history

2022

See also: Michigan House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for Michigan House of Representatives District 56

Sharon MacDonell defeated Mark Gunn in the general election for Michigan House of Representatives District 56 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sharon MacDonell (D)	57.9	24,630
		Mark Gunn (R)	42.1	17,887

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 42,517
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 56

Sharon MacDonell defeated Cyndi Peltonen in the Democratic primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 56 on August 2, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sharon MacDonell	58.9	6,901
		Cyndi Peltonen	41.1	4,821

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 11,722
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 56

Mark Gunn advanced from the Republican primary for Michigan House of Representatives District 56 on August 2, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mark Gunn	100.0	6,628

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 6,628
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Ken Roberts (R)

Historical state legislative recalls

Ballotpedia tracked 157 recall efforts against 148 state lawmakers from 1913 to 2022. During that time, 39 recalls made the ballot and 22 state legislators were successfully recalled.

Michigan led the way with 37 state legislative recall efforts from 1913 to 2022. Of those 37 recall efforts, three were successful. Wisconsin followed with 30 state legislative recall efforts. Six of those recalls were successful.

Recall context

See also: Ballotpedia's Recall Report

Ballotpedia covers recall efforts across the country for all state and local elected offices. A recall effort is considered official if the petitioning party has filed an official form, such as a notice of intent to recall, with the relevant election agency.

The chart below shows how many officials were included in recall efforts from 2012 to 2023 as well as how many of them defeated recall elections to stay in office and how many were removed from office in recall elections.

See also

• Recall campaigns in Michigan
• Political recall efforts, 2023
• Political recall efforts, 2024
• State legislative recalls

External links

• Sharon MacDonell's House profile