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California state legislative special elections, 2022

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In 2022, five special elections were called to fill vacant seats in the California State Legislature.

Click here to read more about the special elections.

Assembly special elections called:

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 a bicameral body composed of the California State Assembly, with 80 members, and the California State Senate, with 40 members.

The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the most recent general elections prior to 2022. 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 3, 2020 After November 4, 2020
     Democratic Party 28 30
     Republican Party 11 9
     Vacancy 1 1
Total 40 40
California State Assembly
Party As of November 3, 2020 After November 4, 2020
     Democratic Party 61 60
     Republican Party 17 19
     Independent 1 1
     Vacancy 1 0
Total 80 80

Special elections

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

April 19, 2022


June 7, 2022


Historical data

There were 848 state legislative special elections that took place from 2010 to 2021. California held 36 special elections during the same time period; about three per year on average. The largest number of special elections in California took place in 2013 when nine 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, 2022

In 2022, 54 state legislative special elections were scheduled in 24 states. Between 2011 and 2021, an average of 74 special elections took place each year.

Breakdown of 2022 special elections

In 2022, special elections for state legislative positions were held for the following reasons:

  • 21 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
  • 24 due to resignation
  • 9 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 2022. 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 (2022)
Party As of Special Election After Special Election
     Democratic Party 36 36
     Republican Party 18 18
     Independent 0 0
Total 54 54

Flipped seats

In 2022, two 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. ↑ California Legislative Information, "California Code," accessed February 9, 2021 (Statute, 1773-California Government Code)
  2. ↑ California Secretary of State, "Special Election Calendar - Special Primary Election February 15, 2022," accessed November 16, 2021
  3. ↑ City Attorney of San Francisco, "David Chiu Sworn in as San Francisco City Attorney," November 1, 2021
  4. ↑ California Secretary of State, "Special Election Calendar - Special Primary Election February 15, 2022," accessed December 15, 2021
  5. ↑ Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk, "Assembly District 49 Special Primary ElectioFebruary 15, 2022," accessed February 16, 2022
  6. ↑ Office of Governor Gavin Newsom, "Governor Newsom Announces Judicial Appointments 11.29.21," November 29, 2021
  7. ↑ California Secretary of State, "Special Election Calendar - Special Primary Election April 5, 2022," accessed January 12, 2022
  8. ↑ Contra Costa Herald, "Frazier announces resignation from Assembly to pursue career in transportation, spend time with family, friends," December 2, 2021
  9. ↑ California Secretary of State, "Special Election Calendar - Special Primary Election April 5, 2022," accessed February 7, 2022
  10. ↑ Twitter, "Autumn Burke," January 31, 2022
  11. ↑ California Secretary of State, "Special Election Calendar - Special Primary Election April 5, 2022," accessed January 12, 2022
  12. ↑ Fox5 San Diego, "Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez to resign from position," January 3, 2022
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