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What does Georgia law require for special election timing when a U.S. House seat becomes vacant after Jan. 5, 2026?
Executive summary
Georgia law requires the governor to issue a writ calling a special election for a U.S. House vacancy within 10 days of the vacancy; with Marjorie Taylor Greene’s resignation slated to take effect Jan. 5, 2026, that would obligate the governor to call a special election by about Jan. 15, 2026 [1]. State election calendars show March 17 and February 17, 2026 listed as possible special-election dates in 2026 planning documents, but available sources do not lay out a single, fixed date option the governor must choose beyond the 10‑day writ requirement [2] [3].
1. What the law says: a 10‑day writ requirement
Georgia reporting states plainly that state law “requires the governor to issue a writ calling a special election for a U.S. House vacancy within 10 days of the vacancy” [1]. That is the central statutory trigger reported in local coverage of the expected vacancy; if Greene’s resignation becomes effective Jan. 5, 2026, the governor would be required to issue the writ roughly by Jan. 15, 2026 [1]. The articles provided do not reproduce the full statutory text, but they treat the 10‑day governor action as the operative legal obligation [1].
2. Who sets the date and how much flexibility the governor has
Reporting and official calendars make clear the governor has discretion to set the special election date once the writ is issued: “If there is a special election to fill out the rest of Greene’s term, Gov. Brian Kemp will be the elected official to set the date” [1]. The Secretary of State sets candidate qualifying windows in coordination with the governor, and qualifying periods for special contests are typically short to allow ballot printing and absentee processing [1]. The sources do not provide a statutory formula (for example, “X days after writ”) that fixes an exact election day for federal vacancies; they instead show an administrative process in which the governor’s writ launches date‑setting and calendar coordination [1] [2].
3. Practical timing shown in 2026 calendars
Georgia’s 2026 election calendar and third‑party event listings show a set of special‑election dates already planned for the year — for instance, a February 17, 2026 special election date appears in some event lists, and the Secretary of State calendar notes a March 17, 2026 special election window [3] [2]. These dates indicate practical options the state uses for special contests, but the materials supplied do not prove the governor must pick one of those specific dates; they simply reflect typical scheduling slots that the state uses for special elections [2] [3].
4. How long the eventual winner would serve
If a special election is called and held to fill a vacancy in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District, reporting and encyclopedic entries note the winner would serve the remainder of the current (119th) Congress through its end date (e.g., January 3, 2027) [4]. The sources show the special election is to fill the remainder of the term rather than create a separate, extended term [4].
5. Where coverage agrees and where it’s thin
Local news (Atlanta News First) and state election documents (Secretary of State calendars) converge on the requirement that the governor issue a writ within 10 days and on the governor’s role in setting the date [1] [2]. Gaps remain: the sources provided do not include the actual statute language or cite a code section, so they do not show whether additional timing constraints (minimum/maximum days from writ to election) exist for U.S. House vacancies in Georgia law. Ballotpedia/official calendars provide likely election windows but do not substitute for the underlying statutory text [2] [5].
6. Competing perspectives and implicit political considerations
Reporting also notes practical and political choices facing the governor: he could schedule the special election before Georgia’s 2026 primary cycle (May 19) or allow the seat to remain vacant until primary/general election timing — a decision with partisan and logistical consequences [1]. The governor’s discretion allows consideration of cost, voter turnout, and potential overlap with statewide primaries; these strategic incentives are flagged in the coverage even though the legal writ deadline constrains only the calling action, not the specific date choice [1].
7. Bottom line and what’s not shown in current reporting
Bottom line: available reporting says Georgia law requires the governor to call a special election by issuing a writ within 10 days of a U.S. House vacancy, and that the governor then sets the election date while the Secretary of State handles qualifying windows and logistics [1] [2]. Available sources do not include the precise statutory text or any code citation that would confirm additional timing rules (for example, minimum/maximum days between writ and election) — not found in current reporting [1] [2]. If you want the exact legal language or code citations, those are not present in the provided materials.