I thought the election law was that you can't change the rules of an election once it's underway.
The only wiggle room that I see is that someone could say that the seat being vacated doesn't automatically start the clock, but that the clock starts when the governor announces the special election date. There should be rules for how long it takes the governor to announce that date. He can't delay the announcement in hopes of the legislature passing a new law avoiding the special election.
However, I do believe that the process begins with the vacating of the seat, and that we're already into it. Step 1 is already being invoked, which is the setting of the special election date within a due diligence timeframe.
-PJ
“I thought the election law was that you can’t change the rules of an election once it’s underway.”
That would depend on what you mean by “underway”. I could make the argument that “the clock is ticking” on seats in the House of Representatives, for instance, once someone takes office. 2 years, precisely, will have to be ticked off, and we all know it. Doesn’t mean election law can’t be changed in the meantime. Redestricting, etc.
“The only wiggle room that I see is that someone could say that the seat being vacated doesn’t automatically start the clock, but that the clock starts when the governor announces the special election date”
Yeah, that makes more sense than me saying you only can’t change it until after someone’s elected.