Recall Sisolak group far short of required signatures halfway through 90-day signature-gathering period

One of the four groups attempting a longshot bid to recall Gov. Steve Sisolak appears to be falling far short of collecting enough signatures to qualify the recall, according to a halfway-point update provided to the Nevada secretary of state's office.

The group, Battle Born Patriots, has reported collecting 31,850 signatures halfway through the 90-day signature-collecting period. The group filed a notice of intent to recall Sisolak on Sept. 3 and needs 243,995 signatures to get to the next stage of the recall process — meaning it needs to collect more than 212,000 signatures by Dec. 3 to qualify the recall effort.

A spokeswoman for the secretary of state's office said it has not received a 45-day update from another group (called "Save Nevada - Recall Steve Sisolak") that also filed an intent to recall the governor on Sept. 3. Another two organizations have registered as political action committees with the stated intent of recalling Sisolak, but have not yet filed any formal paperwork to do so.

In order to qualify a recall petition, supporters need to collect verified signatures from 25 percent of the voters who cast a ballot in the last election of the targeted office-holder within a 90-day period. For Sisolak, that means the minimum number of verified signatures needed to qualify the recall is 243,995.

The required 45-day update is not cross-checked or verified by state or county election officials — that process only happens if the recall group turns in the necessary number of signatures by the deadline. 

A previous attempt to recall Sisolak by a group called "Fight for Nevada" only gathered around 33,000 signatures after the statutory 90-day period to collect signatures. It sued in federal court for a time extension, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and shutdown orders, but the request was denied by a federal judge.

Nationwide, successful recalls against governors are rare. In the last century, just three governors have been recalled and forced to run in a special election.