Special Election Set To Fill Seat Of Senator Who Died On Hunting Trip

January 23, 2009

Alabama Gov. Bob Riley has announced a special election will be held in Escambia and other southwest Alabama counties to fill a state senate seat left empty by the death of state senator on a weekend hunting trip.

Riley announced Thursday that the special election dates are set for Senate District 22, which became vacant with the death of Senator Pat Lindsey earlier this month. The special election will be held to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the senate term, which ends in November 2010.

The deadline for candidate qualification with the two major political parties is February 17 at 5:00 p.m. Party primaries will be held on Tuesday, April 14. Primary runoffs, if necessary, will take place on Tuesday, June 2. If no runoffs are necessary the general election will be held on Tuesday, June 2. In the event of a runoff, the general election will be held on Tuesday, July 21.

Riley has communicated the schedule to the two major political parties and the probate judges of all counties in Senate District 22. Due to U.S. Department of Justice requirements, the special election could not be held in time to allow the winner to assume office during the 2009 regular session of the Alabama Legislature, according to Riley. Those requirements include allowing enough time between elections so all votes, particularly absentee ballots from overseas military personnel, can be cast and counted.

Lindsey, 72, was discovered dead in his bed on a hunting trip while staying with friends in Boligee in west Alabama.

Lt. Gov. Jim Folsom Jr., and State Senator Roger Bedford were also on the trip and among those in the group that discovered Lindsey. He was discovered as the group was getting ready to leave the home friends where they had been hunting.

Lindsey’s senate district included Escambia County in Alabama. Other counties in the district are Baldwin, Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Mobile, Monroe and Washington counties.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News