Multiple articles have stated in 2024 changes to state law requires a special election to fill a vacant Senate seat. Before that, a 2021 law allowed the political party holding the seat to submit three names for the governor to choose from, rather than leaving the selection solely to the governor. Political experts cited in the report say timing requirements mean the window to call a special election would be tight, with an estimated cutoff of Aug. 3 based on candidate filing and notice deadlines. It’s why if it’s announced Aug 4th it’d would have been weekend at Bernie’s essentially and why people are calling on Governor Bashear to just call a special election to force their hand.