Rep. Mark White to file legislation seeking easier recall of Wanda Halbert

MEMPHIS — State Rep. Mark White, R-Memphis, plans to file legislation to make it easier to trigger a recall election, a move inspired by issues with Shelby County Clerk Wanda Halbert.

The change in state law, if passed, would reduce the number of signatures required for a recall election from 15% of registered voters to 1% of registered voters. A county legislative body would also have to pass a resolution of no confidence in the county officer at the center of the recall election.

Halbert was reelected in the Aug. 4 election with 49% of the vote. As of Aug. 4, Shelby County had 583,829 registered voters.

“Citizens of all community deserve the best from their elected officials,” White said in a news release. “The issues that have plagued the Shelby County Clerk’s Office are simply unacceptable. Government works for the people, and this situation represents an egregious dereliction of duties by a public servant.”

In a Thursday afternoon press conference, Halbert said she had not spoken with White, but had reached out to his office. She said she is "hopeful" to hear back from him.

"I haven't talked to anyone at the state level, so I find that a little alarming," she said in that press conference. "I'm not going to respond to anything that an official has said or may have said, but I haven't heard from any official. And how do you know what has happened in this office if you haven't talked to the office itself? Those are created and manipulated misrepresentations and outright lies against this organization and our leadership."

White’s announcement comes toward the end of the second week of closure of the Shelby County Clerk’s offices to the public to deal with a backlog in auto dealer applications. During the first week’s closure, from Aug. 22-26, Halbert was in Jamaica. That week, the office cleared 10,000 auto dealer applications, Halbert previously told The Commercial Appeal.

Previously, there was a months-long backlog in the mailing of customers license plates, something Halbert and Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris have said is now resolved.

However, in addition to the issue with auto dealer applications, there currently remain problems with long lines of customers waiting at offices in person and complaints about early closures of offices.

The Shelby County Commission previously stopped short of passing a vote of “no confidence” in Halbert, instead simply asking the state to intervene. The Tennessee Comptroller responded by saying there was no legal authority or precedent for it to take over the Shelby County Clerk’s Office and that local officials should deal with Halbert.

Since that vote by the commission, six new commissioners have been sworn in.

Kelly Roberts, communications specialist for Harris, said the mayor was eager to review White's new legislation.

"With any luck it will spur the Clerk to take real corrective action," she said. "We understand the frustration created by the mess at the Clerk’s Office.”

The Tennessee General Assembly is scheduled to reconvene on January 10, 2023.

Katherine Burgess covers county government and religion. She can be reached at katherine.burgess@commercialappeal.com or followed on Twitter @kathsburgess.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Rep. Mark White to file legislation seeking easier recall of Wanda Halbert