The recall petition against District Attorney FrancisHUnderwood has collected enough signatures to meet the threshold set by the County Charter, according to information provided to The Harrison Independent, clearing a key procedural hurdle toward a possible recall election.
Under Charter Section 118, a recall petition is considered valid once it includes a written statement of grounds, is signed by petition sponsors who affirm the signatures were lawfully collected, and meets a signature threshold of 30% of voters who voted in the last election for that office, collected within a seven-day window.
Background
The petition was filed on September 13th by Xolaaz, Underwood’s former Chief Assistant District Attorney, on grounds of corruption or abuse of office and neglect or failure to perform official duties. It centers on the handling of The People v. bob_govv, the criminal case against County Executive bob_govv, and Xolaaz’s firing shortly after the Independent Commission on the Judiciary moved to assign the case to a special prosecutor.
Underwood has twice publicly disputed the petition’s account. In a formal response filed September 23rd, he said he never ordered anyone to drop the case and that his instruction to Xolaaz was to complete a full investigation before filing charges against a sitting County Executive, not before he had personally signed off. He said the case remains actively prosecuted. In a second, more pointed statement issued September 24th, Underwood characterized the petition as the product of a “disgruntled employee” responding to legitimate discipline, and called on residents to “vote no on frivolous recalls.”
The Election Commission separately flagged a procedural issue with the petition’s signature collection process, stating the petitioner had failed to provide potential signatories with Form 117b, the form containing the incumbent’s response, and required affected signers to confirm with the Commission that they had read it in order for their signatures to remain valid.
What’s Next
Polls for the recall vote are set to open today, September 26th, at 6:00 PM CT / 7:00 PM ET, and will remain open for 24 hours. Underwood’s recall will appear on the ballot alongside the separate recall vote against County Executive bob_govv, putting both of Harrison County’s active recall efforts before voters at the same time. The Harrison Independent will continue to follow both races and report results once polls close.
This is a developing story.