KT Jacobs recall
Officeholders
KT Jacobs
Recall status
Did not go to a vote
Recall election date
February 13, 2024 (canceled)
Signature requirement
1,880 signatures
See also
Recall overview Political recall efforts, 2024 Recalls in Minnesota Minnesota recall laws City council recalls Recall reports

An election to recall City CouncilwomanKT Jacobs was scheduled for February 13, 2024, inColumbia Heights, Minnesota. On February 9, 2024, theMinnesota Supreme Court ruled that the grounds for the recall were insufficient. The election was canceled.^[1][2][3]

Recall vote

Recall question

The recall election was canceled after a ruling by theMinnesota Supreme Court.

Replacement question

Laurel Deneen, Stan Hoium, and Robert Rogne had filed to replace Jacobs if the recall election had occurred and been successful in removing her from office.

Recall supporters

A group called Concerned Citizens of Columbia Heights initiated the recall effort. According to the group's website, "City Council member Kay “Kt” Jacobs is facing recall from office in Columbia Heights, MN because of her racist behavior, lying to the City Council, and repeatedly violating the city’s personal and professional code of conduct."^[4]

Recall opponents

Jacobs has said that she will not resign. She has denied allegations that she made a phone call to Councilman Justice Spriggs that "included inappropriate comments regarding his race andupbringing," according to background given during a special meeting of the city council on August 1, 2022. Spriggs was a candidate for the office of city council at the time.^[5][6]

Gregory Joseph, an attorney for Jacobs, has said that the recall petition is insufficient. On September 21, 2023, Jacobs filed a lawsuit arguing that the reasons given for the recall effort were not valid and that there were technical issues with the petition's signature pages that should have disqualified it.^[7][8]

After theMinnesota Supreme Court ruled that the grounds for the recall against Jacobs were insufficient, her attorney said, “There was never any merit to this recall effort. It’s unfortunate that it got this far, particularly since we tried to put a stop to it even before the vote was taken last July to schedule the election. But the Minnesota Supreme Court got it right, and my client is eager to put this very difficult experience behind her.”^[3]

Path to the ballot

See also:Laws governing recall in Minnesota

Minnesota allows the followinggrounds for recall: serious malfeasance or nonfeasance during the term of office in the performance of the duties of the office or conviction during the term of office of a serious crime. To get the recall on the ballot, supporters must file signatures equal to 25% of the total votes cast for the position at the last election.^[9] Recall supporters have 90 days to circulate petitions.^[10]

Recall organizers needed to collect 1,880 signatures. On June 28, 2023, organizers turned in 2,000 signatures to the city clerk, who had five days to determine the validity of each signature. Approximately 200 of the signatures were found to be insufficient. Organizers submitted corrected signatures, and a recall election was scheduled for February 13, 2024.^{[2][7][11][12][13]}

On February 9, 2024, theMinnesota Supreme Court ruled that the grounds for the recall against Jacobs were not sufficient. The election was canceled.^[3]

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 2024 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 Minnesota
• Political recall efforts, 2023
• Political recall efforts, 2024
• City council recalls

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Columbia Heights, Minnesota
• Concerned Citizens of Columbia Heights site

Footnotes

	v • e State ofMinnesota St. Paul (capital)
Elections	What's on my ballot? |Elections in 2026 |How to vote |How to run for office |Ballot measures
Government	Who represents me? |U.S. President |U.S. Congress |Federal courts |State executives |State legislature |State and local courts |Counties |Cities |School districts |Public policy