Montana Code Annotated

Mont. Code Ann. § 2-16-603 (2026)

Officers Subject To Recall -- Grounds For Recall

✓ current as of May 2026

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TITLE 2. GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE AND ADMINISTRATION

CHAPTER 16. PUBLIC OFFICERS

Part 6. Montana Recall Act

Officers Subject To Recall -- Grounds For Recall

2-16-603. Officers subject to recall -- grounds for recall. (1) Any person holding a public office of the state or any of its political subdivisions, either by election or appointment, is subject to recall from office.

(2) A public officer holding an elective office may be recalled by the qualified electors entitled to vote for the elective officer's successor. A public officer holding an appointive office may be recalled by the qualified electors entitled to vote for the successor or successors of the elective officer or officers who have the authority to appoint a person to that position.

(3) Physical or mental lack of fitness, incompetence, violation of the oath of office, official misconduct, or conviction of a felony offense enumerated in Title 45 are the only grounds for recall. A person may not be recalled for performing a mandatory duty of the office that the person holds or for not performing any act that, if performed, would subject the person to prosecution for official misconduct.

History: En. Sec. 2, I.M. No. 73, approved November 2, 1976; amd. Sec. 3, Ch. 364, L. 1977; R.C.M. 1947, 59-612; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 398, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 109, Ch. 61, L. 2007.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 6 cases, 1981–2006 · leading case: Foster v. Kovich, 673 P.2d 1239 (Mont. 1983).

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Foster v. Kovich, 673 P.2d 1239 (Mont. 1983). · cites it 25× “First, he argues that the allegations in the recall petition were legally insufficient to constitute grounds for recall under section 2-16-603(3), MCA, of the Montana Recall Act.”

Montana Auto. Ass'n v. Greely, 632 P.2d 300 (Mont. 1981). · cites it 4× “Any public official holding elective office adjudged *317 in violation of the provisions of this act is additionally subject to recall under Montana Recall Act, § 2-16-601, MCA et seq, and such violation shall constitute an additional basis for recall to those mentioned in §…”

Steadman v. Halland, 641 P.2d 448 (Mont. 1982). · cites it 3× “Therefore, we hold that it is not enough for a recall petition to allege one of the grounds for recall as set forth in section 2-16-603(3), MCA. The recall petition must also include a clear statement of the alleged acts constituting the grounds for recall.”

Sheehy v. Ferda, 765 P.2d 722 (Mont. 1988). · cites it 8× “Insofar as pertinent to this case, the grounds for recall are set forth in Section 2-16-603, MCA. It provides: “(1) Every person holding a public office of the state or any of its political subdivisions, either by election or appointment, is subject to recall from such office.”

Citizens Right to Recall v. State Ex Rel. McGrath, 2006 MT 192 (Mont. 2006). · cites it 6× “Section 2-16-603(1), MCA, provides for the recall of any public officer, including state court justices or judges.”

Sheehy v. Ferda (Mont. 1989). · cites it 4× “There we said in part: Therefore, we hold that it is not enough for a recall petition to allege one of the grounds for recall as set forth in section 2-16-603 (3), MCA. The recall petition must also include a clear statement of the alleged acts constituting the grounds for…”

— Mont. Code Ann. § 2-16-603(1) — 1 case

Citizens Right to Recall v. State Ex Rel. McGrath, 2006 MT 192 (Mont. 2006). “Section 2-16-603(1), MCA, provides for the recall of any public officer, including state court justices or judges.”

— Mont. Code Ann. § 2-16-603(3) — 5 cases

Foster v. Kovich, 673 P.2d 1239 (Mont. 1983). “First, he argues that the allegations in the recall petition were legally insufficient to constitute grounds for recall under section 2-16-603(3), MCA, of the Montana Recall Act.”

Montana Auto. Ass'n v. Greely, 632 P.2d 300 (Mont. 1981). “Any public official holding elective office adjudged *317 in violation of the provisions of this act is additionally subject to recall under Montana Recall Act, § 2-16-601, MCA et seq, and such violation shall constitute an additional basis for recall to those mentioned in §…”

Steadman v. Halland, 641 P.2d 448 (Mont. 1982). “Therefore, we hold that it is not enough for a recall petition to allege one of the grounds for recall as set forth in section 2-16-603(3), MCA. The recall petition must also include a clear statement of the alleged acts constituting the grounds for recall.”

Sheehy v. Ferda, 765 P.2d 722 (Mont. 1988). “Insofar as pertinent to this case, the grounds for recall are set forth in Section 2-16-603, MCA. It provides: “(1) Every person holding a public office of the state or any of its political subdivisions, either by election or appointment, is subject to recall from such office.”

Sheehy v. Ferda (Mont. 1989). “There we said in part: Therefore, we hold that it is not enough for a recall petition to allege one of the grounds for recall as set forth in section 2-16-603 (3), MCA. The recall petition must also include a clear statement of the alleged acts constituting the grounds for…”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.