Resignation of Senator Mae Beavers to Trigger Special Election

A special election will be held to fill the unexpired term of State Senator Mae Beavers.
Beavers will be stepping down as of September 1 to devote full time to her gubernatorial campaign. She still has more than a year left in her current senate term.
“Under state law, the timing of Senator Beavers’ resignation will trigger a special election because the 2018 general election is over 1 year away. In fact there will be both a primary and general election likely held this calendar year,” said DeKalb County Administrator of Elections Dennis Stanley.
“The first step is for the governor to issue what is called a “writ of election” (or order) and then a primary must be held between 55 and 60 days afterward. The General Election for that seat must be held 100 to 107 days after the governor’s order,” Stanley said.
“Depending on when the governor issues the ‘writ’, the primary could be held in late October and the general election could be held in late November or early December,” he continued.
Early voting dates would also be held for both elections.
“We will know more about the timing in the coming days,” said Stanley.
Senator Beavers represents the 17th State Senatorial District which includes Cannon, Clay, DeKalb, Macon, Smith, and Wilson counties. She was first elected to the State Senate in 2002 and is in her fourth term, which expires in 2018.