New York: Devaluing the vote: Recall elections would nullify actual elections
More and more, it seems, frustrated voters are seized with the impulse to punish their elected officials. Perhaps that’s not all that surprising, given some of the disclosures about politicians these days, but this urge can be taken too far.
For example, we’ve always believed term-limits laws, which aim to put elected officials on the clock, regardless of whether or not they’re doing a good job, are overkill. Why should honorable, effective representatives be turned out of office long before they’re ready to retire simply because their arbitrarily designated time has expired?
Most of them only go on to seek election to other offices anyway, so the quest to purge government of those dreaded “career politicians” usually backfires.