office or taking appointed positions, or running for a prominent local office in their home district like mayor or county executive. Less frequently, legislators resign to take private-sector jobs, or are removed from office in the wake of a scandal. Whatever the individual circumstances of a vacancy, over the long run special elections are a fairly routine part of keeping the legislative branch running, and serve to fulfill the constitutional right of the state's citizenry to choose their own representatives.

A WisContext review of state elections records found that between 1971 and February 2018, Wisconsin has held at least 62 special elections for state Assembly seats, 40 for the state Senate and three for the U.S. House of Representatives. That's 105 special elections over nearly five decades, according toa thorough investigation of state of Wisconsin Blue Books and online records of the Legislative Reference Bureau and Wisconsin Elections Commission. In at least 33 years of the 48-year period investigated, there has been at least one special election somewhere in Wisconsin.

So, while called "special," these elections are an ongoing fact of legislative life and happen in most legislative sessions. WisContext's review of 105 special elections since 1971, as well as 45 legislative vacancies not filled through special elections over the same time period, indicates that it's pretty normal for governors to call them swiftly and without much fuss. But Gov. Scott Walker is challenging that norm with a recent decision.

Why special elections are at issue

In late December 2017, the governor announced the appointment of two Republican state