Did over 500,000 Maine voters sign a petition to recall Gov. Janet Mills?

A petition to recall Maine Democratic Gov. Janet Mills launched in February garnered roughly 30,000 signatures before it was abandoned.

A post from a parody Facebook account claimed the petition got 500,000 signatures, said that Mills was facing a recall and included a quote from a nonexistent state senator.

Maine has no recall process for elected officials, and there is no current senator named Joe Barron.

The petition was prompted by the governor’s public dispute with President Donald Trump over Maine allowing transgender athletes to compete in girls sports.

A separate petition was launched in support of Mills, which garnered about 5,800 signatures.

Maine lawmakers introduced bills in 2009 and 2017 to implement a recall process for state elected officials, but no such legislation ever became law.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 19 states and the District of Columbia permit the recall of state officials.