Yesterday, the U.S Supreme Court issued a temporary stay on a lower court order to hold special elections in November 2017 for North Carolina General Assembly seats in unconstitutionally gerrymandered districts.

The temporary stay of the lower court’s decision will remain in place until the justices decide whether to consider a previously filed appeal from state officials. If the Supreme Court hears the case and overturns the ruling, the special elections would be canceled and current districts restored for the 2018 election.

Gov. Terry Branstad called a special election for House District 89.

Democrat Jim Lykam resigned after winning the Senate District 45 seat previously held by Sen. Joe Seng, who passed away on September 16, 2016.

The special election for House District 89 will be held on January 31, 2017.

Caleb Jones (R) will leave the state House District 50 seat vacant when he joins Governor-elect Eric Greitens (R) as the new Deputy Chief of Staff starting January 9.

Ashland Republican Party State Committeewoman Sara Walsh (R) announced her candidacy for the position this week. Until the special election to replace Jones, an office in the capitol dedicated to constituent services for members of his district will remain active.

Six candidates are pursuing Montana’s seat in the House of Representatives after President-elect Trump recruited the current holder, Ryan Zinke (R), to be the interior secretary.

Three of the candidates are Republicans and three are Democrats. A special election will be scheduled as early as 85 days following Zinke’s official promotion.

On Friday, North Carolina filed an emergency motion with the U.S. Supreme Court to issue a stay on the federal appeals court ruling that North Carolina must hold special elections in November 2017 for General Assembly seats in unconstitutionally gerrymandered districts.

The legislature would need to redraw districts by mid-March to comply with the ruling. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts set the deadline for a response in the case for January 9, 2017.

On December 21, Rep. Kendell Kroeker, a Republican from Evansville, announced his resignation from the Wyoming House of Representatives. Kroeker cited unexpected circumstances related to his business, Casper Mountain Motorsports, as the reason for his resignation.

The House District 35 vacancy will be filled by the local Republican Party.

Photo of Kendell Kroeker from the State of Wyoming Legislature.

Republican candidate John Kennedy won a state run-off election on December 10 to fill Louisiana’s second seat in the U.S. Senate. Kennedy, Louisiana’s incumbent treasurer, won 61 percent of the vote to defeat Democratic candidate Foster Campbell.

Kennedy will take office January 3, 2017, creating a vacancy in his current position that will be filled in a special election to be held in March or October 2017. The First Assistant State Treasurer will take over as treasurer until an election can take place.

Campbell, a member of the Louisiana Public Service Commission, was looking to increase the number of Democrats in the Senate and gained nationwide support and over $2 million in donations in the months leading up to the December 10 election.

With Kennedy’s victory, the Senate is comprised of 52 Republicans and 48 Democrats. Kennedy will hold the seat until he is up for re-election in 2022.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a plan to hold a special election March 7, 2017, for voters to consider a quarter-cent sales tax to fund efforts to reduce homelessness.

It has yet to be officially announced, but other city and district elections might be consolidated on the March 7 countywide ballot. A consolidated election would allow the county to split the election costs with the other involved jurisdictions.

A special election has been called to fill House Rep. Oliver Robinson’s District 58 seat. Robinson decided to retire so his daughter can serve as House liaison for Gov. Robert Bentley.

A special primary election will be held on March 7, 2017, and the special general election will be held on May 23, 2017, provided a runoff is not required.

Robinson’s resignation was effective on December 5, 2016.

Photo of Oliver Robinson from the Alabama Legislature directory.

A special election for House District 32B will be held on Feb. 14, 2017.

The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled Republican Robert Barrett was ineligible to run for the office because he did not reside in District 32B for six months immediately preceding the Nov. 8, 2016, general election.

Fellow Republican Anne E. Neu will replace Barrett to run against Democratic-Farmer-Labor candidate Laurie J. Warner.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe has set a special election date to replace members of the General Assembly who were elected to Congress. The election will be held on Jan. 10, 2017.

Sen. Tom Garrett, District 22; Sen. A. Donald McEachin, District 9; and Delegate Scott Taylor, District 85, each won seats in Congress.

Candidates have until Dec. 5 to register to be on the ballot.

A federal appeals court ruled North Carolina must hold special elections in November 2017 for General Assembly seats in unconstitutionally gerrymandered districts. The Legislature will need to redraw districts by mid-March, and legislators recently elected from the affected districts will have their terms shortened to one year from the usual two-year term.

Earlier this year, the court ruled the affected 28 districts unconstitutional, but allowed the 2016 election to continue under the old maps. This new order settles the issue of whether the new districts would take effect for the regular 2018 election or if a special election would be necessary.

Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp has set a special election for December 13, 2016, to fill a vacancy in the state Senate.

Sen. Charlie Bethel vacated his District 54 seat following his appointment to the Georgia Court of Appeals, effective January 1. If necessary, a run-off election will be held on January 10, 2017.

Two special elections will take place on the same day as the general election, November 8, 2016, to fill vacancies due to resignations.

Del. Monty Mason resigned his House District 93 seat to run to replace the late Sen. John Miller in the First Senate District.

Del. Lionell Spruill also resigned to run for state Senate. Spruill left his House District 77 seat to run for Senate District 5, vacated by the now mayor of Norfolk, Kenny Alexander.

Both resignations are effective November 21, and the winners of the special elections will be sworn in on November 22.