A special election to fill a vacancy in the Virginia House of Delegates took place on February 7, 2017.
Special elections to fill two vacancies in the Virginia State Senate and one vacancy in the House took place on January 10, 2017.
How vacancies are filled in Virginia
If there is a vacancy in the Virginia General Assembly, a special election must be conducted to fill the vacant seat. If the vacancy occurs while the legislature is in session, the presiding officer of the house in which the vacancy happens must call for a special election. If the vacancy occurs while the legislature is in recess, the governor shall call the special election. Within 30 days of a vacancy, the appropriate officeholder shall issue a writ of election. If an vacancy occurs between December 10 and March 1, the writ must declare the special election date be within 30 days of said vacancy. All special elections must be held promptly. However, no special election can be held if it occurs less than 55 days before any statewide primary or general election or if there are fewer than 75 days remaining in the vacated term.[1][2]
See sources: Virginia Code § 24.2-216
About the legislature
The Virginia General Assembly is the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Its existence dates from the establishment of the House of Burgesses at Jamestown in 1619. It became the General Assembly in 1776 with the ratification of the Virginia Constitution. The General Assembly is a bicameral body consisting of a lower house, the Virginia House of Delegates, with 100 members, and an upper house, the Virginia State Senate, with 40 members. The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the November 2015 general election. Virginia did not hold general state legislative elections in 2016. For the most up-to-date numbers on partisan composition in this legislature, see here (Senate) and here (House).
Special elections
January 10, 2017
February 7, 2017
| ☑ Virginia House of Delegates District 71
| |
|---|
- See also: Virginia state legislative special elections, 2017
A special election for the position of Virginia House of Delegates District 71 was called for February 7, 2017. The filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was January 24, 2017.[15]
The seat was vacant following Jennifer McClellan's (D) election to the state Senate.
Jeff Bourne (D), John Barclay (L), and Regie Ford (I) faced off in the special election.[16]
Bourne won the seat with nearly 90 percent of the total vote.[17]
| Virginia House of Delegates, District 71, Special Election, 2017 |
| Party |
Candidate |
Vote % |
Votes |
| |
Democratic |
 Jeff Bourne |
89.9% |
3,708 |
| |
Libertarian |
John Barclay |
6.6% |
273 |
| |
Independent |
Regie Ford |
3.3% |
135 |
| |
Write-in |
|
0.2% |
8 |
| Total Votes |
4,124 |
| Source: Virginia Department of Elections |
- February 7 special election candidates:
 Jeff Bourne  a John Barclay Regie Ford
|
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
- ↑ Virginia Law Library, "§ 24.2-216. Filling vacancies in the General Assembly," accessed February 16, 2021 (Statute 24.2-216, Virginia Code)
- ↑ Virginia Law Library, "§ 24.2-682. Times for special elections," accessed February 16, 2021
- ↑ wdbj7, "Virginia to hold special elections for three open seats on January 10," accessed December 4, 2016
- ↑ The Richmonder, "Donald McEachin to announce Congressional run tomorrow," March 14, 2016
- ↑ wtvr.com, "Jennifer McClellan named Democratic nominee for 9th Senate District special election," accessed December 4, 2016
- ↑ Virginia Board of Elections, "2017 January GA Specials," accessed January 10, 2017
- ↑ wdbj7, "Virginia to hold special elections for three open seats on January 10," accessed December 4, 2016
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Va. GOP Rep. Robert Hurt retiring at the end of 2016," December 23, 2015
- ↑ Richmond Times Dispatch, "Peake, Washington win nominations to run for Garrett's state Senate seat," accessed December 4, 2016
- ↑ Virginia Board of Elections, "2017 January GA Specials," accessed January 10, 2017
- ↑ wdbj7, "Virginia to hold special elections for three open seats on January 10," accessed December 4, 2016
- ↑ The Virginia Gazette, "Race to replace Rigell begins," January 15, 2016
- ↑ Richmond Times Dispatch, "McAuliffe sets Jan. 10 special election for McEachin, Garrett, Taylor seats," accessed December 4, 2016
- ↑ Virginia Board of Elections, "2017 January GA Specials," accessed January 10, 2017
- ↑ Washington Post, "Special election for Richmond-area House seat set for Feb. 7," accessed January 19, 2017
- ↑ Virginia Department of Elections, "February 7 2017 special elections," accessed January 27, 2017
- ↑ Virginia Department of Elections, "2017 Feb 7 HD 71 Special," accessed August 4, 2017
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