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Massachusetts state legislative special elections, 2024

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In 2024, one special election was called to fill a vacant seat in the Massachusetts General Court in 2024. Click here to read more about the special election.

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 2022 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 8, 2022 After November 9, 2022
     Democratic Party 36 37
     Republican Party 3 3
     Vacancy 1 0
Total 40 40


Massachusetts House of Representatives
Party As of November 8, 2022 After November 9, 2022
     Democratic Party 125 134
     Republican Party 27 25
     Independent 1 1
     Vacancy 7 0
Total 160 160

Special elections

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

March 5, 2024

Historical data

There were 955 state legislative special elections that took place from 2010 to 2023. Massachusetts held 51 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, 2024

In 2024, 52 state legislative special elections were scheduled for 2024 in 22 states. Between 2011 and 2023, an average of 71 special elections took place each year.

Breakdown of 2024 special elections

In 2024, special elections for state legislative positions were held for the following reasons:

  • 31 due to resignation
  • 11 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
  • 4 due to the death of the incumbent
  • 6 due to redistricting


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 2024. 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 (2024)
Party As of Special Election After Special Election
     Democratic Party 26 29
     Republican Party 26 23
     Independent 0 0
Total 52 52

List of seats

In 2024, five seats changed party hands as a result of state legislative special elections.

Seats that changed from D to R

Seats that changed 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. ↑ Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "Special State Election - 6th Worcester Representative District," accessed December 11, 2023
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