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New York state legislative special elections, 2020

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In 2020, four special elections were called to fill a vacant seat in the New York State Legislature.

Click here to read more about the special elections.

Senate special elections called:

House special elections called:

How vacancies are filled in New York


If there is a vacancy in the New York Legislature, a special election must be held to fill the vacant seat. A special election can be held as long as the vacancy occurred before April 1 of the last year of the former officeholder's term. If a special session is called in the state legislature after this date, a special election may be called to fill the seat.[1] The person elected to fill the vacant seat serves for the remainder of the unexpired term.[2]

DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: New York Public Officers Law § 42


About the legislature

The New York State Legislature is a bicameral body composed of the New York State Assembly, with 150 members, and the New York State Senate, with 63 members.

The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the most recent general elections prior to 2020. For the most up-to-date numbers on partisan composition in this legislature, see here (Senate) and here (House).

New York State Senate
Party As of November 6, 2018 After November 7, 2018
     Democratic Party 32 40
     Republican Party 31 23
Total 63 63
New York State Assembly
Party As of November 6, 2018 After November 7, 2018
     Democratic Party 104 106
     Republican Party 41 43
     Independent 1 1
     Vacancy 4 0
Total 150 150

Special elections

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

April 28, 2020

Editor's note: New York's state legislative special elections were originally scheduled on April 28, 2020. On March 28, 2020, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) postponed New York’s presidential preference primary, one Congressional special election, and four state legislative special elections to June 23, 2020, amid concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.[3]

June 23, 2020


Historical data

There were 723 state legislative special elections that took place from 2010 to 2019. New York held 42 special elections during the same time period; the third-most of any state. About four special elections were held each year on average. The largest number of special elections in New York took place in 2018 when 11 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, 2020

In 2020, 55 state legislative special elections were held in 26 states. Four special elections were canceled in New York due to the coronavirus pandemic. Between 2011 and 2019, an average of 77 special elections took place each year.

Breakdown of 2020 special elections

In 2020, special elections for state legislative positions were held for the following reasons:

  • 23 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
  • 5 due to a resignation related to criminal charges[15]
  • 18 due to retirement
  • 13 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 2020. 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 2019, either the Democratic Party or Republican Party saw an average net gain of four seats across the country. Between 2018 and 2019, Democrats had a net gain of six seats.

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

Partisan Change from Special Elections (2020)
Party As of Special Election After Special Election
     Democratic Party 21 27
     Republican Party 38 32
     Independent 0 0
Total 59 59

Flipped seats

In 2020, eight 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. ↑ FindLaw, "New York Consolidated Laws, Public Officers Law - PBO § 42. Filling vacancies in elective offices," accessed February 11, 2021 (Statute § 42 (4))
  2. ↑ FindLaw, "New York Consolidated Laws, Public Officers Law - PBO § 38. Terms of officers chosen to fill vacancies," accessed February 11, 2021 (Statute § 38)
  3. ↑ ‘’New York State,’’ “No. 202.12: Continuing Temporary Suspension and Modification of Laws Relating to the Disaster Emergency,” March 28, 2020
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 New York State Board of Elections, "Official Special Election Political Calendar," accessed February 12, 2020
  5. ↑ ‘’New York State,’’ “No. 202.12: Continuing Temporary Suspension and Modification of Laws Relating to the Disaster Emergency,” March 28, 2020
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 City & State New York, "Cuomo cancels most June special elections," April 25, 2020
  7. ↑ The Citizen, "Antonacci resigns from NY Senate to become state Supreme Court judge" Dec. 31, 2019
  8. ↑ ‘’New York State,’’ “No. 202.12: Continuing Temporary Suspension and Modification of Laws Relating to the Disaster Emergency,” March 28, 2020
  9. ↑ Huntington Now, "Huntington Leaders Sworn Into Office," January 7, 2020
  10. ↑ "Andrew Raia Elected as Huntington Town Clerk," November 5, 2019
  11. ↑ ‘’New York State,’’ “No. 202.12: Continuing Temporary Suspension and Modification of Laws Relating to the Disaster Emergency,” March 28, 2020
  12. ↑ QNS "What you need to know about the race to fill Michele Titus’ Assembly seat" January 10, 2020
  13. ↑ ‘’New York State,’’ “No. 202.12: Continuing Temporary Suspension and Modification of Laws Relating to the Disaster Emergency,” March 28, 2020
  14. ↑ Rochester City Newspaper, "Romeo appointed Monroe County clerk," February 6, 2020
  15. ↑ Arkansas State Rep. Mickey Gates (R) was expelled by a vote of the House membership.
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