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Massachusetts state legislative special elections, 2021

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In 2021, two special elections were called to fill a vacant seat in the Massachusetts General Court . Click here to read more about the special elections.

House 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 2020 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 3, 2020 After November 4, 2020
     Democratic Party 36 37
     Republican Party 4 3
Total 40 40
Massachusetts House of Representatives
Party As of November 3, 2020 After November 4, 2020
     Democratic Party 126 129
     Republican Party 31 30
     Independent 1 1
     Vacancy 2 0
Total 160 160

Special elections

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

March 30, 2021


November 30, 2021


Historical data

There were 782 state legislative special elections that took place from 2010 to 2020. Massachusetts held 45 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, 2021

In 2021, 66 state legislative special elections were held in 21 states. Between 2011 and 2020, an average of 75 special elections took place each year.

Breakdown of 2021 special elections

In 2021, special elections for state legislative positions were held for the following reasons:

  • 27 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
  • 23 due to resignation
  • 4 due to a resignation related to criminal charges
  • 12 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 2021. 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 2020, either the Democratic Party or Republican Party saw an average net gain of four seats across the country.

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

Partisan Change from Special Elections (2021)
Party As of Special Election After Special Election
     Democratic Party 33 33
     Republican Party 33 33
     Independent 0 0
Total 66 66

Flipped seats

In 2021, six 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. ↑ MassLive, "Massachusetts special election for former Speaker Robert DeLeo’s seat set for March 30," January 4, 2021
  5. ↑ MassLive, "This House is going to rise to the occasion: Speaker Robert DeLeo preaches art of listening as he leaves to seek work at Northeastern University," December 29, 2020
  6. ↑ Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "Special State Election - 4th Essex Representative District Calendar," August 30, 2021
  7. ↑ Massachusetts Gaming Commission, "Massachusetts Gaming Commission Welcomes Representative Bradford R. Hill as Commissioner," August 20, 2021
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