On December 30, 2015, Arizona Secretary of State Michele Reagan officially rejected the petitions offer by the Coalition to Recall Diane Douglas. The recall, led by supporters of David Garcia, who lost to Douglas in the 2014 General Election, failed by a wide margin.
In her letter, Reagan advised recall leader Max Goshert: “As you know, The Coalition to Recall Diane Douglas was required to submit at least 366,128 valid signatures in order to place the Douglas recall election on the ballot. However, based on the Committee’s own estimate of 40,257 signatures submitted to the Secretary of State’s Office on December 30, 2015, the Secretary of State rejected the original petitions pursuant to A.R.S. 19-208.01(B).”
According to Reagan, the Committee submitted fewer than 4,000 petition sheets to the Secretary.
When asked what Douglas thought of the recall’s failure, Arizona Department of Education spokesperson Sally Stewart said, “This has not been on Superintendent Douglas’ radar at all. She dedicates all her time and energy supporting Arizona’s students, parents and educators. She was elected by the people for that reason, and she will remain focused on representing the people through her efforts to give all Arizona students a world class education. She plans to dedicate her time in office making her AZ Kids Can’t Afford to Wait! Plan a reality.”