Title says it all.
Who would be appointed to fill the vacancy temporarily, and then would a special election be held to elect someone to finish out his term? When would that happen?
The MA state law was just changed by the Dem-controlled legislature, over the GOP governor’s veto, to leave the seat vacant until a special election is held, which would probably be in May. A number of sitting MA Congressmen are rumored to be eyeing the seat, Barney Frank, Ed Markey, and Marty Meehan most prominently. But it will be a free-for-all starting tonight if Kerry wins.
It’s governed by Massachusetts state law, which I don’t happen to know (nor know where to look for it). But if previous precedent in other states is applicable, the Governor and/or the Legislature will name someone to fill the vacancy until a replacement is elected. The Governor can call a special election to fill the vacancy, or the appointive replacement can hold over until the 2005 general election.
I believe that as soon as a winner of such an election (either kind) is declared, he or she “qualifies” and is eligible to take office. In other words, the new Senators and Representatives elected for full terms this year take office on January 6, 2005. But if Kerry is elected President and resigns, John Doe is appointed to fill the vacancy “until an elected Senator shall qualify.” Suppose further that the Governor does not call a special election, and Doe runs against and loses to Richard Roe in the general election of November 8, 2005. The appropriate state official (Secretary of State?) certifies him as being elected after counts are complete – say November 10. He immediately qualifies because he’s being elected to fill a vacancy, and his seniority dates from that point. If a post-election session of Congress needs to be called in late 2005, Roe would be eligible to sit and vote.
This would presumably be the case in California this year, which if I understand correctly is electing two senators, one due to expiration of term and one to fill a vacancy. If new people are elected to both seats, the one filling the vacancy would be entitled to sit in the Senate immediately on being certified the winner.
Barbara Boxer is up for re-election today. Diane Feinstein’s next election is 2006, and I find nothing online indicating she has vacated her office. Do you have some further information?
Otto, I don’t understand your question. Boxer’s and Feinstein’s Senate seats are on different election cycles. Except that they’re both Democrats, and both fairly similar politically, and both come from California, their situations have little to do with each other.
Does any State elect both Senators at the same time?
My error – I misremembered a comment about a past election where California filled a midterm vacancy and also re-elected a Senator for an expired-term vacancy as being this year.
And I more-or-less simulposted with Elvis, so read what he said as controlling over what I said as SOP based on other fill-the-vacancy elections.
The regular election cycles are drawn up so that in no state do both of the U.S. senate seats’ terms expire together. However, as is explained above, if someone was appointed to fill a vacancy, the seat is up for re-election in the next even-numbered year. In that case, a state might elect both U.S. senators together. This happens occasionally.
In a notable recent case – when Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1986, he pledged that if the pledged that if the federal budget deficit was not lower by the time he was up for re-election, he would stand down. By 1992, the deficit was not lower, so Conrad prepared to end his tenure in the Senate. In the 1992 Democratic primary, Byron L. Dorgan was nominated to take his place. However, that September, North Dakota’s other U.S. senator, Quentin Burdick, died. Dorgan decided to enter the special election for Burdick’s seat. Thus, that November, North Dakotans voted for two U.S. senators. Both Democrats, Conrad and Dorgan, won their races. Four years later, when Burdick’s term would have ended during the regular election cycle, Dorgan successfully ran for re-election.
However, in the case of California, both Boxer and Feinstein have held their seats for some time – neither one has been appointed within the last two years to fill a vacancy.
Boxer and Feinstein were both first elected in 1992 (the “Year of the Woman”). Feinstein was elected to finish a partial term. She was re-elected in 1994 and 2000 and is next up for election in 2006. Boxer was elected to a full term, was re-elected in 1998 and is up for election again today.