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California state legislative special elections, 2017

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A special election to fill a vacancy in the California State Assembly took place on December 5, 2017.

How vacancies are filled in California


If there is a vacancy in the California State Legislature, the governor must call for a special election. The governor must call the election within 14 calendar days of the vacancy. No special election shall be held if the vacancy occurs after the nominating deadline has passed in the final year of the term of office.[1]

DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: California Code, 1773 and California Cons. Art. IV, § 2


About the legislature

The California State Legislature is the state legislature of California. It is a bicameral body consisting of the lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members, and the upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members.

Partisan breakdown

The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the most recent general elections prior to 2017. For the most up-to-date numbers on partisan composition in this legislature, see here (Senate) and here (House).

California State Senate
Party As of November 7, 2016 After November 8, 2016
     Democratic Party 26 27
     Republican Party 13 13
     Vacancy 1 0
Total 40 40
California State Assembly
Party As of November 7, 2016 After November 8, 2016
     Democratic Party 52 55
     Republican Party 28 25
Total 80 80

Special elections

December 5, 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. ↑ California Legislative Information, "California Code," accessed February 9, 2021 (Statute, 1773-California Government Code)
  2. ↑ U.S. News and World Report, "California Governor Sets December Election to Replace Gomez," July 24, 2017
  3. ↑ California Secretary of State, "Information Sheet: Qualifications and Requirements," accessed July 25, 2017
  4. ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Labor activist Wendy Carrillo will be L.A.'s newest Assembly member," December 6, 2017
  5. ↑ California Secretary of State, "Official Certified List of Candidates," August 16, 2017
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