Despite media coverage of the campaigns to oust controversial Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, efforts to have him recalled have failed.
Respect Arizona and Citizens for a Better America gathered outside Arizona government offices this week to collect the signatures of residents, and had until 5 p.m. on Thursday to meet the 335, 317 quota, but failed to do so.
Recall volunteers have been pushing for the removal of Arpaio since January, after he narrowly won his sixth term as sheriff in the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office.
"It is a sad day," Respect Arizona's campaign manager, Lilia Alvarez, said. "It is a disappointment."
When Arpaio was asked for a comment, he issued a statement indicating that volunteers were embarrassed of their numbers and their ultimate defeat.
"This effort failed because the good people of Maricopa County, whom I'm honored to serve, rejected the wrong-headed idea of overturning an election," he said.
Joshua Spivak, and authority on recall and a senior fellow at Wagner College, said the recall effort in Arizona failed because of too little money, and not enough options.
"They are running against Joe Arpaio," he said. "But who are they electing."
According to the National Conference of State Legislation (NCSL) a recall "is a procedure that allows citizens to remove and replace a public official before the end of a term of office."
Traditionally, recalls happen at the local level, and are intentionally different from other methods of removing officials from office referred to as impeachment because recalls are a "political device" whereas "impeachment is a legal process."
Arizona is one of at least 29 states, including New Jersey, North Dakota, Washington, Ohio, California, and Georgia that permit the recall of local officials.
Records have shown that recalls are more effective at the local level.
Critics of the recall process "argue that it can lead to an excess of democracy, that the threat of a recall election lessens the independence of elected officials...and that it can lead to abuses by well-finances special interest groups."
