By the fall of 1921, the Independent Voters Association (IVA), the opposition to the Nonpartisan League (NPL), had gained enough political power and support to call for a special recall election. Ironically, it was the NPL that established the recall amendment: first during the 1919 regular session of the state legislature and then by the support of state voters in March 1920.
The recall election was held on October 28, 1921.
Although certain programs of the NPL were upheld by voters, like the Bank of North Dakota, all three members of the Industrial Commission were removed from office: Lynn J. Frazier (Governor), William Lemke (Attorney General), and John N. Hagan (Commissioner of Agriculture and Labor). All three were prominent members of the NPL.
This marked the first time in United States history that a governor had been successfully removed from office.
The trio were replaced by IVA-endorsed candidates: Ragnvald A. Nestos (Governor), Sveinbjorn Johnson (Attorney General), and Joseph A. Kitchen (Commissioner of Agriculture and Labor).
Kitchen replaced Hagan on the Board of Administration.
Front page of the "Bismarck Tribune" on November 23, 1921, following the inauguration of R. A. Nestos, Sveinbjorn Johnson, and Joseph A. Kitchen. The front page had multiple articles covering the transfer of power from the NPL to the IVA:
[Image courtesy of Chronicling America (Library of Congress).]
The "National Leader" (formerly the "Nonpartisan Leader") dedicated several articles to the outcome of the recall election in its November 14, 1921, issue. This notable article admits the NPL's leaders were removed from office, but the people of North Dakota upheld the NPL program.
[Image courtesy of Chronicling America (Library of Congress).]
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