Court challenge likely over Frank White recall election date

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - The Jackson County Legislature voted unanimously Monday to pass an ordinance calling for a special election on Aug. 26 for the recall of County Executive Frank White Jr.

The date was set based on the Jackson County Constitutional Home Rule Charter, which says a recall election must occur “within 60 days after petitions are filed.”

“The people of Jackson County have spoken, and we must listen,” said Legislature Chairman DaRon McGee. “Today’s action by the Legislature ensures that voters will have the opportunity to decide this matter directly, as outlined in our Charter and laws.”

The recall effort started years ago, then picked up momentum this year. On June 30, the Kansas City Election Board (KCEB) and Jackson County Election Board (JCEB) submitted to the county clerk a total of 43,011 validated signatures, surpassing the required threshold of 42,902 — a number calculated as a percentage of those who voted in the last election for White’s office, county executive.

Jackson County elections involve two election boards. The KCEB handles elections in the part of Kansas City that is located in Jackson County. The JCEB handles elections for all other cities in the county.

“This petition reflects that a significant number of people felt compelled to act, and as public servants, it’s our job to honor that,” said McGee. “Our responsibility is to carry out this process with fairness, transparency, and integrity. We are not here to prejudge the outcome or take sides. We are here to ensure that the rule of law is followed and that voters have confidence in how this process unfolds.”

CHARTER RULES IN DISPUTE

All involved have referred to a recall election of an elected county officer as unprecedented. Several details associated with how to handle a recall election are open for interpretation and in dispute.

For that reason, County Counselor Bryan Covinsky said he anticipates someone will take it to court before it gets to the ballot box. He said it might come from election boards arguing they need more time to plan. He also said any court challenge will probably not come from his office, which represents the county administration, which is headed by White.

“There’s a number of interpretations that are being done right now and I think eventually someone is going to need to file something on that matter,” Covinsky said. “It will probably not be the counselor’s office because we’d be conflicted out of this situation when we clearly have legislators in support of this recall and obviously the administration that does not.”

Rules on date of election

The published Charter has a 60-day deadline. More recently, the legislature, in 2023, approved an ordinance setting guidelines for recall petitions that indicates, “if no legal election date is available within sixty days the election will occur at the next available election will occur at the next available election after certification of the Petition.”

County Executive Frank White cited the ordinance in a statement critical of the date selected.

The charter language available online has not changed. Changing the language of the charter typically requires a public vote, which happens only periodically. The legislature chose the 60-day limit in the published charter.

“The Charter says 60 days,” McGee said, when asked about the reason the legislature selected August 26. “We are going to follow the Charter. The other option we had if we did not choose August 26th was doing an election September 2nd, the day after Labor Day.”

Rules on what’s required to schedule election

When election officials can begin planning is also in dispute. The main concern is whether the election boards can begin planning without waiting out a 10-day veto period.

The legislature passed both an ordinance and a resolution, through the resolution passed narrowly. Those who voted against the resolution said they did so because it is redundant.

Legislator Sean Smith said the purpose of the resolution, which is not subject to a veto, was to give the election boards an indication of their intent so they can begin planning now.

The county counselor said the election boards can’t act on a resolution and can’t move forward until an ordinance is enacted.

Tammy Brown, one of the two directors of the Jackson County Election Board, said she understands they cannot move forward until they receive certification of an election from the county clerk. That, she said, makes it difficult if not impossible to carry out a lawful election by Aug. 26.

KCTV5 talked to the Kansas City Election Board directors last week about all that goes into planning an election.

They indicated it typically takes at least 10 weeks to plan an election. The 60 days called for by the Charter would be about eight weeks. If they have to wait through the 10-day veto window, they have less than six weeks.

Brown said Monday that they are considering petitioning the court for a temporary restraining order to have the date moved to November 4th — a date already scheduled on the Missouri Secretary of State’s election calendar.

A standalone election would cost about $1.8 million, according to the election boards.

FRANK WHITE ON RECALL

Last week, KCTV spoke to White at KCI.

“I think it’s not good for the county,” he said. “I think there’s some disagreements about some things. I think it’s about the stadium vote and not the property tax.”

The county executive initially called the effort to remove him an act of “political revenge,” saying it was “funded by dark money groups and self-interested insiders who were denied a blank check for a bad stadium deal.”

The most recent effort to recall White began in 2024, after many people started complaining about the reassessment values of their homes and properties.

“When you’re allowed to go and collect signatures for three years, anybody can get voted out of office at that point,” White said.

Any details on voting locations and ballot language for the recall election will be shared by the Jackson County Election Board and Kansas City Election Board.