State Senator Eric D. Coleman
May 29, 2009
Coleman Backs Bill That Will Allow Voters to Fill Vacant U.S. Senate Seats
Currently a vacant U.S. Senate seat in Connecticut is filled by an appointment by the governor, but Senator Eric Coleman (D-Bloomfield) voted in favor of a bill approved by the Senate that would restore the authority to fill a U.S. Senate vacancy to the voters.
The issue of filling vacant U.S. Senate seats is receiving a lot more attention because of the charges of corruption with the former governor of Illinois who has been accused of trying to sell the Senate seat vacated by President Obama.
Senate Bill 913 An Act Concerning United States Senate Vacancies would require a special election to be held 150 days after a U.S. Senate seat becomes vacant, with two exceptions.
Should a vacancy occur after the municipal election in the year preceding the last year of a senator’s term or in the last year of a term, the governor has the authority to nominate an individual to the seat; that nomination would require a two-thirds affirmative vote of both the state Senate and House of Representatives. If a vacancy occurs in the year of a state election and not more than 62 days before, the office would be placed on the ballot for that election.
“In recent months attention has been called to the process of filling U.S. Senate seats when vacancies occur. I believe that the voters of Connecticut are far more comfortable with having their input through the electoral process to determine the candidate who will fill such a vacancy,” said Senator Coleman.
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