Diane Douglas recall bid way short of signatures

• Recall group says it has 1,200 volunteers collecting signatures
• Douglas spokesman has said superintendent doesn't have recall "on her radar"

A long-shot effort to oust the state's top elected education official from office that began in September seems just as unlikely today.

The Coalition to Recall Diane Douglas announced Tuesday that it had fewer than 100,000 signatures on hand petitioning for the state superintendent's removal. That number is far short of the approximate 366,000 signatures the group needs to collect by the end of the year to put a recall of Douglas on the ballot.

The recall group did not give a precise figure Tuesday. Rather, it said in a press release that the number of signatures it had collected was "in the five figures."

The campaign launched a petition drive Sept. 1, giving it 120 days to collect the signatures. Max Goshert, the coalition's chairman, said in September that the effort was launched because Douglas "lacks a concern for students, she lacks a plan for education and she lacks honesty, integrity, and transparency."

The recall group said Tuesday that it was not possible for them to release a more-precise figure because "most volunteers have not started sending in their petitions until just now."

“Since most of our volunteers have waited until now to send in their petitions, providing a specific number does not accurately or honestly reflect the number that we have because we are getting a huge number of signatures throughout each day,” Goshert said in a press release.

Timeline: North Korea and the Sony Pictures hack

Goshert said the recall group has about 1,200 volunteers circulating petitions in Coconino, Yavapai, Maricopa, Pinal and Pima counties. The group's Facebook page had more than 15,300 "likes" on Tuesday.

But acquiring the hundreds of thousands of signatures in about four months has always been, at least mathematically, an uphill climb.

To meet the goal, the group has to average about 3,000 signatures a day. That number does not factor in the extra thousands of signatures needed as a safeguard, should some signatures be deemed invalid.

Douglas has ignored the recall effort since her election last fall.  The recall threats began immediately after she won the office.

"This is not on Superintendent Douglas’ radar at all," Charles Tack, Douglas' spokesman, told The Arizona Republic in September. "She remains focused on supporting Arizona students, parents and educators, something that has not changed since she took office in January."

In a poll conducted Sept. 2, most Arizonans surveyed rated Douglas' performance as below average or poor. Nearly half said they would put their signatures on petitions to try to force a recall election against her.

Timeline: North Korea and the Sony Pictures hack

Last November, Douglas, a Republican, narrowly defeated Democrat David Garcia. Just weeks after Douglas was elected, Goshert created a political-action committee, a Facebook page and the website recalldouglas.com.

After taking office in January, Douglas generated controversy by publicly feuding with Gov. Doug Ducey and Arizona State Board of Education President Greg Miller over who controls board staff.

More recently, Douglas and Miller made headlines after an incident at a board meeting during which Douglas told Miller to take his hand off her when he accidentally touched her arm. Douglas called the Department of Public Safety about Miller after the meeting. Miller said he was taking the microphone away from Douglas because she was talking out of turn.