Alabama state legislative special elections, 2017

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A special primary election to fill a vacancy in the Alabama House took place on January 31, 2017. A general special election took place on April 18, 2017.

A special election to fill another vacancy in the Alabama House of Representatives was scheduled to take place on May 23, 2017, but the election was decided in a primary on March 7, 2017.

How vacancies are filled in Alabama


If there is a vacancy in the Alabama State Legislature, a special election must generally be conducted in order to fill the vacant seat. In the event that a vacancy occurs on or after October 1 in the year of a regular election, the seat will remain vacant until filled at the regular election. Otherwise, the governor must call for a special election if the vacancy happens before the next scheduled general election and the Legislature is in session.[1][2] The governor has all discretion in setting the date of the election along with the nominating deadlines.[2]

DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: Alabama Code § 17-15-1


About the legislature

The Alabama State Legislature is the state legislature of Alabama. It is a bicameral body composed of the Alabama House of Representatives, with 105 members, and the Alabama State Senate, with 35 members. In the 2010 elections, Republicans gained control of both chambers for the first time since 1874. The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the November 2014 elections. For the most up-to-date numbers on partisan composition in this legislature, see here (Senate) and here (House).

Alabama State Senate
Party As of November 3, 2014 After November 4, 2014
     Democratic Party 11 8
     Republican Party 23 26
     Independent 1 1
Total 35 35
Alabama House of Representatives
Party As of November 3, 2014 After November 4, 2014
     Democratic Party 37 33
     Republican Party 66 72
     Independent 1 0
     Vacancy 1 0
Total 105 105

Special elections

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April 18, 2017

May 23, 2017

Special elections throughout the country

See also: State legislative special elections, 2017

Between 2011 and 2016, an average of 70 special elections took place each year. A total of 25 states use special elections to fill legislative vacancies. In two other states—Illinois and Indiana—special elections are used in limited circumstances. The rest of the states fill vacancies either through appointments made by the governor of the state or by a commission made up of officials from the former member's party. In 2017, 98 state legislative seats were filled through special elections.

Breakdown of 2017 special elections

In 2017, special elections for state legislative positions were held for a variety of reasons:

  • 46 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
  • 1 due to an ineligible general election candidate
  • 15 due to the incumbent accepting another job
  • 22 due to a retirement
  • 15 due to a death

The partisan breakdown for the special elections was as follows:

Impact of special elections on partisan composition

The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election. The number on the left reflects how many vacant seats were originally held by each party, while the number on the right shows how many vacant seats each party won in the special elections. It is not typical to see significant net changes in overall state legislative party composition because of special elections. In elections between 2011 and 2016, one party (either Republicans or Democrats) saw an average net gain of three seats across the country, although actual races won and lost by each party varied more. For instance, in 2015, Democrats lost nine seats to Republicans but won six different seats in other races, resulting in a net loss of three seats.

Note: This table reflects information for elections that were held and not total vacant seats.

Partisan Change from Special Elections
Party As of Special Election After Special Election
     Democratic Party 45 56
     Republican Party 53 42
     Independent - -
Total 98 98

Flipped seats

In total, 17 state legislative seats flipped party control in 2017. Democrats flipped 14 seats and Republicans flipped three seats as a result of special state legislative elections in 2017.

Seats flipped from D to R

Seats flipped from R to D

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Alabama Legislature, "Code of Alabama," accessed February 5, 2021 (Section 17-15-1)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Alabama Legislature, "Code of Alabama," accessed February 5, 2021 (Section 17-15-3)
  3. ↑ The Office of Alabama Governor Robert Bentley, "Governor Bentley Calls Special Election for House District 67," accessed December 9, 2016
  4. ↑ Alabama Reporter, "Melton Wins Selma Mayoral Election," accessed December 9, 2016
  5. ↑ AL.com, "Four Democrats qualify for vacant Alabama House seat," accessed December 9, 2016
  6. ↑ Selma Times Journal, "Chestnut avoids runoff in state rep. race," accessed February 1, 2017
  7. ↑ Selma Times Journal, "Race for District 67 House seat continues after independent candidate qualifies," accessed February 6, 2017
  8. ↑ Alabama News, "Chestnut Wins House District 67 Seat," April 19, 2017
  9. ↑ The Office of Alabama Governor Robert Bentley, "Governor Bentley Calls Special Election for House District 58," accessed December 9, 2016
  10. ↑ Weld, "State Rep. Oliver Robinson suddenly retires, raising questions," accessed December 9, 2016
  11. ↑ WBRC, "Rolanda Hollis wins District 58 seat," March 7, 2017
  12. ↑ Birmingham Times, "Three Democrats Qualify for Seat Vacated by Oliver Robinson," accessed December 29, 2016


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