Alabama House approves bill to eliminate special elections for Senate vacancies News
Alabama House approves bill to eliminate special elections for Senate vacancies

The Alabama House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a bill [HB 17 materials] to eliminate special elections when there is a vacancy in the US Senate.

Under HB 17 [text, PDF], when a vacancy occurred the governor would appoint a person until the next general election. Currently, the governor appoints someone who remains in office only until a special election.

Rep. Steve Clouse [official website], sponsor of the new bill, explained [WTVY report] that the cost of elections is the main motivation behind the legislation. He asserts that the state fiscal office calculated elections to cost $3.5 million, and so when adding the costs of a primary, general, and potential special election, the state is paying approximately $10 million.

The bill was approved by a vote of 67-31 and now goes to the Alabama Senate.

The legislation follows the contested election of Doug Jones [JURIST report] to fill the seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions.

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