Minnesota Supreme Court dismisses recall effort against Gov. Tim Walz

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - The Minnesota Supreme Court has quickly dismissed a recall effort against Gov. Tim Walz.

Chief Justice Lorie Gildea wrote that "the allegations in the proposed petition for recall, even if proven, do not constitute malfeasance, and therefore no basis exists" for the recall effort to move forward.

Minnesota has a very high bar for recall of public officials. A statewide official needs to have committed malfeasance (wrongdoing) or nonfeasance (failure to perform) while in office -- or be convicted of a serious crime.

Walz's critics filed a proposed recall petition against him over the governor's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.