Special Elections

The elections nobody tells you about—and why a handful of voters end up deciding them.

When an elected official leaves office before their term is up—because they resigned, died, got appointed to another job, or were removed—somebody has to fill that seat. That's what a special election is: an off-schedule election to fill a vacancy. No big campaign season, no national ad blitz, usually no media coverage at all. Just a date on your county elections website that most people will never see.

The result? Turnout in special elections regularly drops to 10–15%, and sometimes into the single digits. A tiny slice of the electorate—the people who happened to be paying attention—chooses a representative for everyone else.

Why Do Special Elections Happen?

The most common reasons a seat opens up:

Resignation

The officeholder takes a different job. When JD Vance became Vice President, his Ohio Senate seat opened up. When Marco Rubio became Secretary of State, his Florida Senate seat opened up. When Mikie Sherrill became governor of New Jersey, her House seat opened up.

Death

When Rep. Doug LaMalfa of California died in January 2026 and Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia died in 2025, special elections were called to fill their seats.

Appointment

A state legislator might leave to become a judge or take an executive branch position. Florida's HD-87 opened up when Rep. Mike Caruso resigned to become Palm Beach County Clerk and Comptroller.

Expulsion or removal

Rare, but it happens. If a legislator is expelled by a vote of their chamber or removed from office, a special election fills the vacancy.

How Special Elections Work

A special election is basically a mini version of a normal election, but squeezed into a much shorter window:

A vacancy occurs and the governor (or another authority, depending on the state and office) issues an executive order calling the special election.
For Senate seats, the governor may appoint someone to serve temporarily. This happens in 45 of 50 states. Five states (Kentucky, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin) don't allow this—the seat stays empty until voters decide. Some states require the appointee to be from the same party as the departing senator.
For House seats, there is no appointment. The Constitution (Article I, Section 2) requires that all House vacancies be filled by election. This is why a House district can go unrepresented for months.
A special primary is held where candidates compete for their party's nomination, just like a regular primary but on its own schedule.
A special general election follows where the primary winners face off. In some states, the special general is scheduled to coincide with the next regular election. In others, it's held on its own date entirely.

The timeline varies enormously. Massachusetts schedules special elections 145–160 days after the vacancy. Montana does it in 85–100 days. Some states wait until the next regular general election, which can mean an appointed senator serves for nearly two years before voters get a say.

Wait—Special Primary? Special General? What?

These terms trip up a lot of people. Here's the simple version: a special election follows the same two-step process as a regular election, just on its own timeline.

Special Primary

Each party picks its nominee. This is the same idea as a regular primary—Democrats run against Democrats, Republicans run against Republicans—but it happens on its own date, not during the state's regular primary season. Multiple candidates from each party can run, and the one with the most votes wins the party's nomination.

Special General Election

The primary winners face each other. Democrat vs. Republican (and any independents or third-party candidates). The winner takes the seat. This is called a “general” election because it's the final, deciding vote—not because it happens in November. A special general can fall on any date.

The word “general” just means “the final election between party nominees.” The word “special” just means “off-schedule.” Put them together and you get “special general election”—an off-schedule final election. It sounds redundant, but it's just describing a final vote that isn't happening on the regular November election day.

Real example: New Jersey's 11th District (2026)

When Rep. Mikie Sherrill resigned to become governor, her House seat opened up. Here's the timeline:

Nov 20, 2025: Sherrill resigns → seat is vacant
Feb 5, 2026: Special primary → 12 Democrats and several Republicans compete within their parties. Progressive activist Analilia Mejia wins the Democratic nomination; Joe Hathaway wins the Republican nomination.
Apr 16, 2026: Special general election → Mejia vs. Hathaway. Whoever wins takes the seat.

The whole process happened outside the regular election calendar. New Jersey's regular primary isn't until June. If you only watch for regular elections, you'd miss this entirely.

Some states skip the two-step process entirely and use a jungle primary (also called a nonpartisan blanket primary), where all candidates from all parties run on the same ballot and the top two vote-getters advance to the special general—regardless of party. California and Louisiana use this system.

The Turnout Problem

This is the core issue. Special elections happen on random dates, get minimal media coverage, and most voters simply don't know they're happening. The numbers are striking:

Election Type	Typical Turnout
Presidential general	60–67%
Midterm general	40–52%
Regular primary	18–29%
Special elections	8–20%

In Fairfax County, Virginia, special elections for state delegate seats in 2025 drew turnout of about 12–13%—compared to nearly 55% for the regular November election. Louisiana's special legislative primaries in February 2026 had turnout of just 13.8%. Texas constitutional special elections average 8.7%.

Why this matters

When turnout drops this low, the people who vote don't look like the community they're choosing a representative for. Special election voters tend to be older, more politically active, and less diverse than the general population. When most people stay home, a single organized group can swing the entire outcome—something that's much harder to do when millions of people show up.

Real Stakes: When Special Elections Changed Everything

Special elections aren't trivial. They've changed the balance of power in Congress and state legislatures multiple times:

Massachusetts Senate (Scott Brown)

2010

After Ted Kennedy died, Republican Scott Brown won the special election—the first Republican to hold that seat in over 60 years. Brown became the 41st Republican senator, which meant Democrats no longer had enough votes to block Republican opposition on their own. This nearly killed the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and forced Democrats to find a different procedural path to pass it.

Alabama Senate (Doug Jones)

2017

Democrat Doug Jones defeated Republican Roy Moore by just 21,924 votes in deep-red Alabama—a state Trump had won by 28 points. The win shrunk the Republican Senate majority to a razor-thin 51–49, making it much harder for them to pass bills. It was the first Democratic Senate victory in Alabama in 25 years.

Minnesota State House (67–67 Tie)

2025

After the 2024 election gave Republicans a narrow 67–66 majority in the Minnesota House, a special election in District 40B swung to Democrat David Gottfried by a 70–30 margin. The result created a 67–67 tie, forcing a power-sharing agreement. One single special election transformed how the entire state legislature operated.

Between 1987 and 2024, 39% of U.S. Senate special elections resulted in a party flip, according to Ballotpedia. For House specials, it was 16%. These aren't rare flukes.

Special Elections Happening Right Now

As of early 2026, the U.S. House stands at 218 Republicans, 214 Democrats, with 3 vacancies—a one-vote margin. That means every single special election could shift the balance of power. Here are the ones coming up:

Race	Date	Why It's Open
Georgia 14th (U.S. House)	March 10, 2026	Marjorie Taylor Greene resigned
Florida HD-87 (State House)	March 24, 2026	Rep. Mike Caruso became county clerk
New Jersey 11th (U.S. House)	April 16, 2026	Mikie Sherrill became governor
Ohio Senate (U.S. Senate)	Primary: May 5; General: Nov 3	JD Vance became Vice President
California 1st (U.S. House)	Primary: June 2; General: Aug 4	Rep. Doug LaMalfa died
Florida Senate (U.S. Senate)	Primary: Aug 18; General: Nov 3	Marco Rubio became Secretary of State

There are also state legislative special elections happening in Florida, Louisiana, and other states with even less coverage than these.

How to Find Out About Special Elections

This is the hard part. There's no national notification system for special elections. Nobody is going to knock on your door and tell you. Here's where to look:

Vote411

Personalized ballot lookup from the League of Women Voters. Enter your address to see any upcoming elections, including specials.

Vote.org Reminders

Find Your Ballot

Use our tool to find your Secretary of State and county elections office—the most reliable sources for special election info.

Ballotpedia

Tracks every special election at every level across the country. The most comprehensive source.

Your county supervisor of elections website is always the most accurate, up-to-date source. If you're in Florida, for example, votepalmbeach.gov had all the details on the HD-87 special election—registration deadlines, voting locations, candidates—but you had to know to look for it.

Guide 18 of 22

Next up: Voter Turnout in America — How many Americans actually vote, who shows up, and why it matters.

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