House seats that are vacated are treated differently than Senate ones
House seats that are vacated are treated differently than Senate ones
House seats that are vacated are treated differently than Senate ones
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Tuesday a special election to fill the congressional seat vacated by Rep. Eric Swalwell will take place on Aug. 18.
Swalwell’s resignation from his House seat after being accused of sexual assault left an open seat and his District 14 unrepresented.
Unlike the Senate, when resignations, deaths or vacancies happen to House seats, the process is different.
The U.S. Constitution requires all House members to be elected, not appointed. This is unlike, say, when Kamala Harris resigned her Senate seat to take on the role of vice president, with the governor appointing Alex Padilla to finish out her term.
The filling of a House seat varies in terms of time and process from state to state, but they have to call a special election to fill the seat. In California, Newsom had 14 days to issue a proclamation.
There are a number of candidates who were already vying for Swalwell’s seat, given he had already announced his leaving it in pursuit of a gubernatorial run.
Vacancies in the U.S. House of Representatives are not uncommon.
While we are in the 119th Congress, according to Congress.gov, “during the 118th Congress, to date, there have been 16 House vacancies. Five vacancies occurred during the first session of the 118th Congress, and nine vacancies have occurred in the second session (to date). Five of the vacancies from the second session of the 118th Congress remain at the time of this writing.”
On Eric Swalwell’s resignation from Congress, Gov. Newsom’s office is reviewing the situation.
Once the seat is officially vacant, the office will make an announcement re: possible special election.
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