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Minnesota state legislative special elections, 2017

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A special election to fill a vacancy in the Minnesota House of Representatives took place on February 14, 2017.

How vacancies are filled in Minnesota


Vacancies in the Minnesota State Legislature are filled through election. If there are more than 150 days before the next state general election, and the legislature will not be in session before the results are canvassed, then any vacancy is filled at the next state general election.[1][2]

If the vacancy happens during the legislative session, the governor has five days to issue a writ calling for a special election. The election must take place no more than 35 days after the issuance of the writ. If the legislature is out of session and there are fewer than 150 days before the next state general election, the governor must call for a special election so the winner of the election can take office when the legislature reconvenes.[2][3]

DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: Minnesota Cons. Art. 4, § 4 and Minnesota Stat. § 204D.19


About the legislature

The Minnesota Legislature is the state legislature of Minnesota. It is a bicameral legislature, consisting of the lower Minnesota House of Representatives and the Minnesota State Senate. The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the November 2016 elections. For the most up-to-date numbers on partisan composition in this legislature, see here (Senate) and here (House).

Minnesota State Senate
Party As of November 7, 2016 After November 8, 2016
     Democratic Party 38 33
     Republican Party 28 34
     Vacancy 1 0
Total 67 67
Minnesota House of Representatives
Party As of November 7, 2016 After November 8, 2016
     Democratic Party 61 57
     Republican Party 73 76
     Vacancy 0 1
Total 134 134

Special elections

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February 14, 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. ↑ Minnesota Revisor of Statutes, "Constitution of the State of Minnesota," accessed February 12, 2021 (Article 4, Section 4)
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Minnesota Revisor of Statutes, "2020 Minnesota Statutes," accessed February 12, 2021 (Statute 204D.19 (1)-(3))
  3. ↑ Minnesota Revisor of Statutes, "2020 Minnesota Statutes," accessed February 12, 2021 (Statute 204B.13)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 TwinCities.com, "Lawmaker doesn’t live in district, MN Supreme Court rules; ballot won’t count," accessed September 16, 2016
  5. ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "House District 32B special election," accessed December 4, 2016
  6. ↑ Minnesota Secretary of State, "Election results, special election 2017," accessed February 15, 2017
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