Georgia state legislative special elections, 2020

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In 2020, four special elections were called to fill vacant seats in the Georgia General Assembly. Click here to read more about the special elections.

Senate special elections called:

House special elections called:

How vacancies are filled in Georgia

See also: How vacancies are filled in state legislatures


If there is a vacancy in the Georgia General Assembly, the vacant seat must be filled by a special election. If the vacancy occurs during a legislative session, the governor must declare a special election no later than 10 days after the vacancy happens. If the vacancy occurs after the regular legislative session held during the first year of the term of office for members, the governor may order a special election at any time but no later than 60 days before the November general election. If the vacancy occurs between 60 days before the November general election and the next legislative session, the governor is required to order a special election within 10 days.[1]

The special election must be held no less than 30 days and no later than 60 days after the governor calls for the election. The counties representing the vacant district are responsible for conducting the election.[1]

DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: Georgia Code § 21-2-544


About the legislature

The Georgia General Assembly is Georgia's state legislature. It consists of the lower House of Representatives and the upper State Senate. The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the November 2018 general election. For the most up-to-date numbers on partisan composition in this legislature, see here (Senate) and here (House).

Georgia State Senate
Party As of November 6, 2018 After November 7, 2018
     Democratic Party 19 21
     Republican Party 37 35
Total 56 56


Georgia House of Representatives
Party As of November 6, 2018 After November 7, 2018
     Democratic Party 64 75
     Republican Party 114 105
     Vacancy 2 0
Total 180 180

Special elections

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

January 28, 2020

February 4, 2020

June 9, 2020

November 3, 2020

Historical data

There were 723 state legislative special elections that took place from 2010 to 2019. Georgia held 63 special elections during the same time period; the most of any state. About six special elections were held each year on average. The largest number of special elections in Georgia took place in 2015 when 12 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, 2020

In 2020, 55 state legislative special elections were held in 26 states. Four special elections were canceled in New York due to the coronavirus pandemic. Between 2011 and 2019, an average of 77 special elections took place each year.

Breakdown of 2020 special elections

In 2020, special elections for state legislative positions were held for the following reasons:

  • 23 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
  • 5 due to a resignation related to criminal charges[9]
  • 18 due to retirement
  • 13 due to the death of the incumbent

Impact of special elections on partisan composition

The partisan breakdown for the special elections was as follows:

The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election in 2020. 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. In elections between 2011 and 2019, either the Democratic Party or Republican Party saw an average net gain of four seats across the country. Between 2018 and 2019, Democrats had a net gain of six seats.

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

Partisan Change from Special Elections (2020)
Party As of Special Election After Special Election
     Democratic Party 21 27
     Republican Party 38 32
     Independent 0 0
Total 59 59

Flipped seats

In 2020, eight 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. ↑ 1.0 1.1 The State of Georgia, "Official Code of Georgia," accessed January 23, 2024 (Statute 21-2-544)
  2. ↑ The Moultrie Observer, "Special election to be held following Rep. Jay Powell's death," December 9, 2019
  3. ↑ The Fresno Bee, "Georgia Rep. Jay Powell dies at GOP leadership meeting," November 26, 2019
  4. ↑ GeorgiaPol.com, "UPDATED-State Senator Greg Kirk (R-Americus) passes away," December 22, 2019
  5. ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "CALL FOR SPECIAL ELECTION FOR STATE SENATOR, DISTRICT 4," accessed April 17, 2020
  6. ↑ WTOC, "Remembering State Sen. Jack Hill," April 6, 2020
  7. ↑ Georgia Secretary of State, "SPECIAL DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY ELECTION SET FOR GEORGIA STATE SENATE DISTRICT 39," accessed September 4, 2020
  8. ↑ Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Democrats tap Nikema Williams to replace John Lewis on November ballot," July 20, 2020
  9. ↑ Arkansas State Rep. Mickey Gates (R) was expelled by a vote of the House membership.
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