With the recall of Council Grove Mayor Ryan McDonald headed to voters in November, questions are now turning from how the recall reached the ballot to what happens next — both before the election and afterward if voters choose to remove McDonald from office.
Morris County Clerk and County Election Officer Chelsey Schmidt said the question appearing on the ballot will read, “Shall Ryan Mc-Donald be recalled from the office of Council Grove Mayor?”
Voters will mark either “Yes” or “No.”
A “Yes” vote is a vote to recall McDonald and remove him from office. A “No” vote is a vote against the recall and to retain McDonald as mayor.
The recall will be decided during the Nov. 3, 2026, general election. The Kansas Secretary of State lists Nov. 3 as General Election Day.
Mayor has option to file response Kansas law gives an elected official facing recall an opportunity to file a written statement responding to the grounds cited for the recall.
Under K.S.A. 25-4329, the person being recalled may submit a statement of no more than 200 words “in justification of such person’s conduct in office.” The statement must be provided to the county election officer within 10 days after notification that the recall petition was properly filed. The statute does not require the official to submit a response.
Schmidt said McDonald had not submitted such a statement on Friday when she provided information to the Council Grove Republican.
The statutory statement gives the official an opportunity to place a formal response on file with the county election officer. Kansas law requires any statement submitted to be maintained for public inspection.
Schmidt said she will be required to provide copies of the “Statement of Grounds for Recall” and, if Mc-Donald submits one, copies of the “Statement by the Local Officer being Recalled” for display at polling locations.
McDonald is not required to limit any public response to the statutory statement and may make other statements about the recall through other means.
Kansas law also prescribes the wording of the recall ballot, requiring the question to ask whether the named official should be recalled from office and providing voters the choice of “Yes” or “No.”
What happens if the recall passes?
If a majority of the votes cast favor recalling McDonald, the county board of canvassers will determine the result and the county election officer will certify it. Under K.S.A. 25-4330, the mayor’s office would become vacant the day after the certification.
The law says a vacancy caused by recall is filled in the same manner as a vacancy created by other means. For Council Grove, the succession process is spelled out in both Kansas law and the city code.
Council Grove City Code Section 1-205 states that when a vacancy occurs in the office of mayor, the president of the City Council becomes mayor until the next regular election for that office. Kansas law governing second-class cities contains the same provision.
That means Council President Jason Booker would become mayor if McDonald is successfully recalled, assuming Booker remains council president when the vacancy takes effect.
Because Booker would become mayor through the statutory succession process rather than through a separate mayoral election, the Council Grove Republican contacted him last week and asked what he would change or do differently as mayor and how he would govern the city.
The newspaper noted that voters deciding the recall may also want to understand what city leadership would look like if the recall is successful.
Booker responded, “Thanks for asking, but I will not have a comment at this time.”
The city’s next regular municipal election is scheduled for 2027. Council Grove elects its mayor to a two-year term and holds city elections every two years in odd-numbered years.
Booker’s move to mayor would create another vacancy If Booker becomes mayor, his Ward 3 City Council position would become vacant.
Council Grove is divided into three wards, with two council members representing each ward. Booker currently represents Ward 3.
The governing body could not appoint just any Council Grove resident to replace him.
Kansas law requires the governing body to appoint an elector of the ward where the vacancy occurs. Council Grove’s own code contains the same requirement. In this case, the person appointed to fill Booker’s council seat would have to be an elector of Ward 3. The appointee would serve the balance of the unexpired council term.
After the council president becomes mayor, Kansas law also requires the council to elect a new president from among its remaining members.
What if the recall fails?
If a majority of the votes cast do not favor the recall, no mayoral vacancy would be created and McDonald would remain in office.
Kansas law further provides that an official who is successfully recalled cannot be appointed to fill the vacancy created by the recall.
For Council Grove voters, however, the Nov. 3 ballot itself will present a single question: “Shall Ryan McDonald be recalled from the office of Council Grove Mayor?”
A “Yes” vote favors recalling Mc-Donald.
A “No” vote opposes the recall and retains McDonald as mayor.