Vacancies and Special Elections: 108th Congress
Released: 2005-01-12T00:00:00

RS21539 -- Vacancies and Special Elections: 108th Congress

Updated January 12, 2005

Procedure for Filling Vacancies in Congress

Vacancies in Congress occur when a Senator or Representative dies, resigns, declines to serve, or is expelled orexcluded by either house. The Constitution requires that vacancies in both houses be filled by special election; butinthe case of the Senate, it empowers the state legislatures to provide for temporary appointments to the Senate by thegovernor until special elections can be scheduled. (1)

Senate. Prevailing practice for Senate vacancies is for state governors to fill them by appointment, with the appointee serving until a special election can be held. The winnerofthe special election then serves for the balance of the term. In the event that the seat becomes vacant between thetimeof a statewide election and the expiration of the term, the appointee usually serves the remainder of the term. Oregonand Wisconsin are the only states that do not provide for gubernatorial appointments; their Senate vacancies canonlybe filled by election.

House of Representatives. All House vacancies are filled by special election. Scheduling for special elections is largely dependent upon the amount of time remaining beforethenext regular elections for the House. When a vacancy occurs during the first session of Congress, a special electionisalways scheduled for the earliest possible time, preferably to coincide with elections regularly scheduled for otherpurposes in the district.

If, however, a seat becomes vacant within six months of the end of a Congress, some states hold a special election forthe balance of the congressional term on the same day as the regular election. Winners of special elections in thesecases are sometimes not sworn in immediately as Members of the House, Congress having often adjourned sine die before election day. They are, however, accorded the status of incumbent Representatives for the purposes ofseniority, office selection, and staffing. Other states do not provide for a special election in these circumstances,andthe seat remains vacant for the balance of that particular Congress.

For additional information, see CRS Report 97-1009(pdf) , House and Senate Vacancies: How Are They Filled? by Sula P.Richardson and [author name scrubbed].

Table 1. Special Elections in the U.S. House of Representatives: 108th Congress(2003-2004)

a In California, Rep. Robert T. Matsui died on Jan. 1, 2005, three days before the convening of the 109th Congress, towhich he had been reelected. A special primary election to fill the vacancy will be held on Mar. 8, 2005. The namesof all candidates, regardless of party affiliation, will appear on the March ballot. If no candidate receives a majorityofvotes, the top vote-getters from each party will advance to a special runoff election on May 3, 2005.

b Three days before the 108th Congress convened on January 7, 2003, a special election was held to fill the vacancycaused during the 107th Congress by the death of Rep. Patsy Mink, who had been re-elected posthumously to the 108thCongress. (Rep. Patsy Mink died two days after the deadline for replacing her name on the ballot for re-electionto the108th Congress.) On January 4, 2003, Ed Case defeated 43 other candidates in a special election tofill that vacancy. The other candidates in the open special election were: Kabba Anand (N), Whitney T. Anderson, Paul Britos (D),John S. (Mahina) Carroll (R), Brian G. Cole (D), Charles (Lucky) Collins (D), Doug Fairhurst (R), Frank F. Fasi(R),Michael Gagne (D), Alan Gano (N), Carolyn Martinez Golojuch (R), G. Goodwin (G), Richard H. Haake (R), ChrisHalford (R), Colleen Hanabusa (D), S. J. Harlan (N), Herbert Jensen (D), Kekoa D. Kaapu (D), MoanaKeaulana-Dyball (N), Kimo Kaloi (R), Jeff Mallan (L), Barbara C. Marumoto (R), Sophie Mataafa (N), MattMatsunaga (D), Bob McDermott (R), Mark McNett (N), Nick Nikhilananda (G), Richard (Rich)Payne (R), John(Jack) Randall (N), Jim Rath (R), Mike Rethman (N), Art P. Reyes (D), Pat Rocco (D), Bartle Lee Rowland (N),BillRussell (N), John L. Sabey (R), Nelson J. Secretario (R), Steve Sparks (N), Steve Tataii (D), Marshall (Koo Koo)Turner (N), Dan Vierra (N), Clarence H. Weatherwax (R), and Solomon (Kolomona) Wong (N). Prior to winningtheJanuary 4, 2003 special election, Mr. Case had also won the special election that had been held on November 30,2002, to fill the remainder of Rep. Mink's term for the 107th Congress. He was not sworn in,however, as the 107thCongress was not in session. (For further information on the 107th Congress vacancy and specialelection see CRS Report RS20814(pdf) , Vacancies and Special Elections: 107th Congress .)

c In Kentucky, Rep. Ernie Fletcher resigned from the House on December 9, 2003, and was sworn in as Governor ofKentucky. A special election to fill the vacancy caused by Rep. Fletcher's resignation was held on February 17,2004,at which time the House was in recess until Feb. 24, 2004. Representative Albert Benjamin "Ben" Chandler wassworn in on Feb. 24, 2004.

d In Nebraska, no special election was held to fill the seat vacated by Rep. Doug Bereuter, who resigned from theHouse on Aug. 31, 2004. The vacancy continued throughout the remainder of the 108th Congress.

e In North Carolina, a special election to fill the vacancy in the 1st congressional district was held on July 20, 2004, tocoincide with the state's primary elections.

f In South Dakota, a special election to fill the vacancy in the at-large district was held on June 1, 2004, to coincidewith the state's primary elections.

g In Texas for the special election, which was held on May 3, 2003, the names of 17 candidates (regardless of party)appeared on a single ballot and the voters could choose any of these candidates: Richard Bartlett (R), John D. Bell(R), Jamie Berryhill (R) William M. (Bill) Christian (R), Mike Conaway (R), Thomas Flournoy (C), Kaye Gaddy(D),E.L. "Ed" Hicks (I), Carl H. Isett (R), David R. Langston (D), Donald May (R), Randy Neugebauer (R), JuliaPenelope (G), Richard (Chip) Peterson (L), Jerri Simmons-Asmussen (D), Vickie Sutton (R), and Stace Williams(R). A candidate who received a majority of the votes would have been elected to the office. Because no candidatereceived a majority of the votes, a special runoff election was held on June 3, 2003, and the names of the two topvotegetters were on that ballot.

Key to Abbreviations for Party Affiliation

C Constitution D Democratic G Green I Independent

L Libertarian N Nonpartisan R Republican