Special Election Musical Chairs

"Special election musical chairs" is a term used by editorialists to describe a series of special elections triggered by the mid-term resignation or death of an officeholder, with elections being won by other officeholders, triggering further special elections until either the next election required to replace a vacant office is scheduled on a regular election day or the winner of an election does not create a vacancy in any elected office.

It is represented well by a series of five special elections that were held in the Oakland-Berkeley area from April 1998 to April 1999, due to: a political retirement, elected officials seeking higher office, and the requirements for filling mid-term vacancies under California election law. Near the end of it, there had been so many elections held that voters were increasingly unwilling to participate, and turnout fell to 15% of registered voters, one of the lowest turnouts in California history. The "musical chairs" began with the mid-term retirement of well-known Congressman Ron Dellums, and ended one year later with the unexpected election to the California State Assembly of Green Party candidate Audie Bock.