Ballotpedia's 2026 Mid-Year Recall Report indicates 205 recall efforts nationwide through June 30, 2026, targeting 329 elected officials across 26 states. Thirty-three of these efforts were related to data center development.

City council members were the most targeted officials, accounting for 151 (46%) of the 329 officials named in recall efforts. Mayors ranked second with 52 officials targeted, and school board members were third with 51 officials targeted during the first half of 2026. Michigan had the highest number of targeted officials with 108, followed by California with 48, and Oregon with 33.

A recall effort began in April 2026 against the mayor and three city council members of Festus, Missouri, following their support for a proposed $6 billion data center project. Petitioners gathered enough signatures to meet legal requirements, but the Festus city council voted not to place the recalls on the ballot, stating the petitions did not allege unlawful conduct by the targeted officials.

In Lyon, Michigan, an effort is underway to recall all seven members of the Township Board of Trustees. Organizers stated this was in response to a proposed 1.8 million-square-foot data center known as Project Flex, though recall petitions cited the board's January 2026 vote to approve trustee pay raises. Petitioners must submit 3,000 valid signatures for each official by July 31, 2026, for the recalls to appear on the November ballot.

Similarly, proponents of a data center project initiated a recall effort against Imperial County, California, Board of Supervisors Chair Peggy Price. This effort focused on her vote to approve a property merger that would facilitate data center development. Ballotpedia tracked recall efforts against 58 officials related to data center development in seven states in 2026.

Through June 30, 2026, 8% of officials included in recall efforts were removed by voters. This compares to 10% of officials removed at the same point in 2025. Seven officials defeated recall votes to remain in office in the first half of 2026, while 118 recall attempts did not qualify for the ballot. As of June 30, 2026, 18 recall elections were scheduled but not yet held, and 151 officials faced active recall campaigns.

Historically, recall efforts have focused on issues such as COVID-19 pandemic policies, with 133 efforts from 2020 to 2023, and disputes over library and classroom materials, with 19 efforts against school board members from 2021 to 2024.