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Massachusetts state legislative special elections, 2022

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One special election was called to fill a vacant seat in the Massachusetts General Court in 2022. Click here to read more about the special elections.

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 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:

January 11, 2022

Historical data

There were 848 state legislative special elections that took place from 2010 to 2021. Massachusetts held 47 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, 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. ↑ 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. ↑ Politico, "Decision day in Boston and beyond," September 14, 2021
  5. ↑ Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "Special State Election First Suffolk and Middlesex Senate District - Calendar," accessed September 21, 2021
  6. ↑ State House News Service, "Senate Session Summary - Thursday, Sept. 9," September 9, 2021
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