A United State judge who was openly condemned for his leniency towards a campus rapist has been forced out of office by voters.

Judge Aaron Persky handed Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner a six-month sentence in June 2016.

But county judges in California are elected, and if a petition to remove them from office garners enough signatures a vote will be held.

Such elections are rare - the last time a US judge was recalled was in 1977.

Tuesday's vote in Santa Clara County marks the first time a Californian judge has been removed in this way for more than 80 years.

"We are outraged at [his] actions, and we don't just want talk, we want to take him out of office. Persky is unfit to sit on the bench,’’ an earlier statement from the campaign to remove him said.

The former Santa Clara County judge recently said he had no regrets about the case.

He has also been cleared of misconduct by the California Commission on Judicial Performance.