Sidebar: How a Fernandina Beach commissioner recall works

Recalling a city commissioner in Fernandina Beach is governed by Florida Statutes §100.361, which establishes a multi-step process with strict deadlines and signature requirements.

Who can sign
Only registered voters who live within the City of Fernandina Beach may sign recall petitions. County residents who live outside the city limits are not eligible to sign.

Grounds for recall
State law limits recall petitions to specific legal grounds, including misfeasance, malfeasance, neglect of duty, incompetence, or permanent inability to perform official duties. The petition must state the grounds in 200 words or fewer. No city official reviews or approves the wording before circulation.

Step 1: First petition round (30 days)
Recall organizers may circulate petitions without prior approval. Once circulation begins, they have 30 days to collect signatures.

For Fernandina Beach, the Nassau County Supervisor of Elections has confirmed that the required threshold for this initial phase is 10 percent of the city’s registered voters, which equals 1,135 valid signatures per commissioner.

Each commissioner requires a separate petition, meaning voters must sign once for each official being recalled.

After signatures are collected, the petitions are filed with the Fernandina Beach City Clerk, who forwards them to the Nassau County Supervisor of Elections for verification.

Step 2: Defense and second petition round
If the first petition is certified as sufficient, the targeted commissioner is formally notified and may submit a written defense of up to 200 words.

The city clerk then prepares a combined document known as the “Recall Petition and Defense.”

Organizers must then collect signatures from 15 percent of the city’s registered voters within 60 days. Based on current voter rolls, that threshold equals 1,703 valid signatures per commissioner.

These petitions are again verified by the supervisor of elections.

What happens next
If the second petition meets the required threshold:

• The commissioner has five days to resign.

• If the commissioner does not resign, a recall election is scheduled by the circuit court.

What election officials do — and don’t do
The city clerk and supervisor of elections verify signatures and procedural compliance. They do not judge the truth or merits of the recall allegations.

Any challenge to the legal sufficiency of the recall grounds must be decided by a judge, not city or election officials.