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Rhode Island state legislative special elections, 2021

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2021 State Legislative
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In 2021, one special election was called to a fill vacant seat in the Rhode Island General Assembly.

Click here to read more about the special elections.

Senate special elections called:

How vacancies are filled in Rhode Island


If there is a vacancy in the Rhode Island General Assembly, a special election must be held to fill the vacant seat. The secretary of state must call for an election to be held anywhere from 70 to 90 days after the vacancy occurred. No election can be held if the vacancy happens after the first Monday in February during an election year. The person elected to fill the seat serves for the remainder of the unfilled term.[1]

DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: Rhode Island Gen. Laws § 17-3-6


About the legislature

The Rhode Island General Assembly is a bicameral body composed of the Rhode Island House of Representatives, with 75 members, and the Rhode Island State Senate, with 38 members. The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the November 2018 general election. For the most up-to-date numbers on partisan composition in this legislature, see here (Senate) and here (House).

Rhode Island State Senate
Party As of November 3, 2020 After November 4, 2020
     Democratic Party 33 33
     Republican Party 5 5
Total 38 38


Rhode Island House of Representatives
Party As of November 3, 2020 After November 4, 2020
     Democratic Party 66 65
     Republican Party 8 10
     Independent 1 0
Total 75 75

Special elections

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

November 2, 2021

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. ↑ Rhode Island General Laws, "Title 17 Elections; Chapter 3 General Assembly Members; § 17-3-6. Vacancy in general assembly — Special elections," accessed February 3, 2023
  2. ↑ Rhode Island Secretary of State, "Dates Set for RI Senate District 3 Special Election," August 19, 2021
  3. ↑ The Public's Radio, "Six Democrats, one Republican run for vacant RI Senate seat," August 30, 2021
  4. ↑ 10 WJAR, "Rhode Island state senator resigns to take Biden administration post," August 17, 2021
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