Secretary of the State Points to Senate Vacancies in Illinois, New York as Evidence of the Need for Long Overdue Election Reform
Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz today joined the incoming House Chair of the Government, Administration and Elections Committee, State Representative James Spallone (D-Essex) in calling for the adoption of a law designating a special election to fill any future vacancies in Connecticut’s U.S. Senate seats. In the case of a Senate vacancy, current law provides for the governor to appoint a successor to fill out the remainder of a term or until a special election can be called on the date of the next even-numbered general election.
“Unfortunately, the apparent corruption scandal surrounding the appointment of a Senate successor to President-elect Barack Obama in Illinois has shown us, once again, why the question of vacancies in the U.S. Senate should be left up to voters to decide and not in the hands of one politician,” said Secretary Bysiewicz. “Even the political intrigue surrounding a potential replacement for U.S. Secretary of State designate Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York is clear evidence that the succession process for U.S. Senate seats in Connecticut would be much more simple and democratic as a special election.”
Bysiewicz added, “Let the voters decide who is more qualified and fit to serve in the Senate to represent the interests of our state. We’ve already seen how the Governor’s office can become corrupted in Connecticut, so let’s eliminate that potential and unnecessary political maneuvering when it comes to a U.S. Senate vacancy in our state.”
Secretary Bysiewicz testified in favor of H. B. 5663 in the Connecticut General Assembly in February of this year which would have removed the Governor’s authority to appoint a Senate successor and instead designated a special election to take place 60 days from the start of the vacancy, with allowances for that timeframe to be extended another 60 days should there be a party primary for the U.S. Senate seat. This would have made the process identical to that of filling a vacany in the U.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut. H.B. 5663 passed out of the Government, Administration and Elections committee but died at the end of the legislative session.
Working together with GAE committee co-chairs, Senator Gayle Slossberg (D-Milford) and Representative James Spallone(D-Essex), Secretary Bysiewicz is vowing to bring a similar Senate vacancy bill before the Connecticut General Assembly in the 2009 legislative session.
Representative Spallone said, “The decision to choose a United States Senator should be in the hands of the people. This is not about partisan politics, one governor or one senator. This is about preserving democracy and voting rights.”
“Why should a governor be allowed to choose a U.S. senator from their party when voters have clearly chosen someone of a different party to represent them in Washington? It simply doesn’t make sense,” said Bysiewicz. “Candidates for U.S. Senate should be vetted by voters and the citizens of Connecticut have a right to hear what these candidates have to say and what their vision is for the position. We have seen examples of nepotism, cronyism and corruption when we give the awesome power of a Senate appointment to a governor. Enough is enough. Why wait for the next political corruption scandal to happen here in Connecticut? Lawmakers have responded in some of those states by handing that power back to the people where it belongs. And it’s time for Connecticut to do the same.”
The United States Constitution provides that "the legislature of any State may empower the executive thereof to make temporary appointments until the people fill the vacancies by election as the legislature may direct." Prior to 1947, Connecticut law treated vacancies in congressional districts and for the Senate the same: it required a special election to take place within 90 days of the vacancy. But that year Republicans in the General Assembly passed a law granting the governor authority to appoint someone to a Senate seat should one become vacant.
Bysiewicz has been advocating for Senate vacancies in Connecticut to revert back to a special election since at least 2001 as Secretary of the State and prior to that as a member of the General Assembly and House chair of the GAE committee. Currently, the states of Alaska, Arizona, Massachusetts, Wisconsin and Oregon do not permit their state’s governor to appoint a successor to fill a Senate vacancy. In those states, a special election is called to fill the vacancy. With one exception, Oklahoma also requires a special election to fill a Senate vacancy.
