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  Recall effort vs. Walberg apparently in vain, expert says
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ContributorThe Sunset Provision 
Last EditedThe Sunset Provision  Aug 10, 2007 10:08am
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News DateFriday, August 10, 2007 04:00:00 PM UTC0:0
DescriptionActivists in Michigan are trying to recall Rep. Tim Walberg (R) for his support of the Iraq war, but the effort is destined to be a symbolic one with no authority to actually remove Walberg from office, according to a Congressional Research Service (CRS) attorney.

Lenawee County’s election commission signed off on the language of local resident James Carr’s recall petition this week. He must now collect 50,000 signatures in three months for a recall election to be initiated.


No member of Congress has ever been recalled, and the U.S. Constitution does not allow for it, said CRS attorney Jack Maskell, who in 2003 drafted a report on recalling members of Congress.

Maskell said previous Supreme Court decisions and the Constitution leave little doubt that a successful recall vote would not legally be able to remove Walberg from office.

“It would just be like a public opinion poll,” Maskell said. “You can’t force them out of office that way. It can’t be done, it’s never been done, and that’s why. … there’s no provision for it.”

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