Massachusetts state legislative special elections, 2023

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three special elections was called to fill vacant seats in the Massachusetts General Court in 2023. Click here to read more about the special elections.

House special elections called:

Senate special elections called:

How vacancies are filled in Massachusetts

See also: How vacancies are filled in state legislatures


If there is a vacancy in the Massachusetts General Court, a special election must be conducted to fill the vacant seat. The election must be held on the next regularly scheduled date on the election calendar.[1] Local governments that conduct special elections can receive reimbursement from the state treasurer's office for costs incurred.[2][3]

DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: Massachusetts Gen. Laws Ann. ch. 54, § 141 and Massachusetts Const. Amend. Art. 24


About the legislature

The Massachusetts General Court is a bicameral body composed of the Massachusetts State Senate, with 40 members, and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, with 160 members. The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the November 2022 general election. For the most up-to-date numbers on partisan composition in this legislature, see here (Senate) and here (House).

Massachusetts State Senate
Party As of November 8, 2022 After November 9, 2022
     Democratic Party 36 37
     Republican Party 3 3
     Vacancy 1 0
Total 40 40


Massachusetts House of Representatives
Party As of November 8, 2022 After November 9, 2022
     Democratic Party 125 134
     Republican Party 27 25
     Independent 1 1
     Vacancy 7 0
Total 160 160

Special elections

Click [show] to the right of the district name for more information:

May 30, 2023

November 7, 2023

Historical data

There were 902 state legislative special elections that took place from 2010 to 2022. Massachusetts held 48 special elections during the same time period. About four special elections were held each year on average. The largest number of special elections in Massachusetts took place in 2013 when eight special elections were held.

The table below details how many state legislative special elections were held in a state in a given year.

Special elections throughout the country

See also: State legislative special elections, 2023

In 2023, 53 state legislative special elections were scheduled in 21 states. Between 2011 and 2022, an average of 68 special elections took place each year.

Breakdown of 2023 special elections

In 2023, special elections for state legislative positions were held for the following reasons:

  • 10 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
  • 32 due to resignation
  • 9 due to the death of the incumbent
  • 2 due to removal from office

Impact of special elections on partisan composition

The partisan breakdown for the special elections was as follows:

As of December 1st, 2024, Republicans controlled 55% of all state legislative seats nationally, while Democrats held 44.12%. Republicans held a majority in 56 chambers, and Democrats held the majority in 41 chambers. Two chambers (Alaska House and Alaska Senate) were organized under multipartisan, power-sharing coalitions.

Partisan balance of all 7,386 state legislative seats
Legislative chamber Democratic Party Republican Party Grey.png Other Vacant
State senates 837 1,117 3 16
State houses 2,421 2,944 19 29
Total: 3,258

4,061

22

45


The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election in 2023. 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.

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

Partisan Change from Special Elections (2023)
Party As of Special Election After Special Election
     Democratic Party 33 33
     Republican Party 20 20
     Independent 0 0
Total 53 53

Flipped seats

In 2023, four seats flipped as a result of state legislative special elections.

Seats flipped from D to R

Seats flipped from R to D



See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Massachusetts General Court, "General Laws," accessed February 12, 2021 (Section Chapter 50, Section 6A)
  2. ↑ Massachusetts General Court, "General Laws," accessed February 12, 2021 (Section Chapter 3: Section 10A)
  3. ↑ Massachusetts General Court, "General Laws," accessed February 12, 2021 (Section Chapter 54: Section 141)
  4. ↑ Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "2023 Special State Election - 9th Suffolk Representative District," accessed March 13, 2023
  5. ↑ Politico, "Boston’s special election double-header," accessed March 1, 2023
  6. ↑ Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "2023 Special State Election - 10th Suffolk Representative District," accessed March 13, 2023
  7. ↑ Politico, "Boston’s special election double-header," accessed February 28, 2023
  8. ↑ Massachusetts Secretary of State, "Special State Election Calendar Worcester and Hampshire District*," accessed June 20, 2023
  9. ↑ The Boston Globe, "Amid criticism by Mass. GOP, state Senate sets special election date for Gobi seat," June 15, 2023
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