Time is running out for the group trying to boot Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava from office. Organizers face a hard May 14 deadline to turn in tens of thousands of verified voter signatures if they want a recall question on the ballot. With finance rules, missed paperwork and strict signature checks hanging over the effort, the next few weeks will decide whether this recall drive is real or just political noise.
How Many Signatures They Need, And Who Is Leading The Charge
County records list the "Recall Cava" political committee with "Alex Otaola for Mayor" as its committee head, according to campaign filings. Recall supporter Mercy Perez told Local 10 the campaign has collected about 50,000 signatures so far, a number that has not yet been independently verified by elections officials.
Election Officials Set A High Legal Bar
The Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections told WLRN that organizers must submit roughly 66,000 valid signatures by May 14 to trigger a recall election. The office also confirmed that the Recall Cava committee missed a required campaign-finance filing, an oversight that could bring fines of up to $500 per day. Those penalties would not automatically kill the petition, but they do add another ticking clock for the committee.
Recall Camp Blames Tech Glitch As Critics Cry Foul
A spokesperson for the Recall Cava PAC told Local 10 the missed filing was the result of a problem uploading reports through the county’s online portal. On the other side, Levine Cava adviser Christian Ulvert has dismissed the recall as a "sham effort" meant to raise Otaola’s profile, while pollster Fernand Amandi has described it as a partisan stunt rather than a genuine attempt to remove the mayor.
What Happens If The Recall Succeeds
Under state rules, petitioners must gather signatures equal to 4% of registered voters in the county. If they hit that mark, a recall question would go before all Miami-Dade voters and, if a majority votes for removal, a special election must be held within 90 days, as reported by NBC 6. That timeline makes the mid-May cutoff a make-or-break moment for both petition organizers and the elections staff who would have to verify every signature.
Why This Recall Fight Matters In Miami-Dade Politics
Alex Otaola, a conservative Spanish-language social-media host who finished third in the 2024 mayoral race, has used his platform to drum up support for the recall. The effort has also drawn backing from the Miami-Dade Republican Party, according to WLRN. Whether that online and party-fueled energy turns into the roughly 66,000 valid signatures the county requires is the central test ahead.
What to watch next: if and when the committee files its missing finance report, whether organizers deliver a full batch of petitions to the Clerk and the Supervisor of Elections by May 14, and how both sides lean on advertising and on-the-ground signature drives to sway voters. If recall supporters meet the deadline, county officials will start the painstaking verification process that will decide whether Miami-Dade voters get a say on Levine Cava’s future on the ballot later this year.
