SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sutter County officials are asking Gov. Gavin Newsom to choose an earlier date for a special election to fill the rest of Rep. Doug LaMalfa’s term in Congress, which was vacated after the sitting congressman’s death in early January.

County supervisors, in a letter approved this week, asked Newsom to select the earliest date possible for voters in the 11 counties represented by LaMalfa to choose a new representative.

“The passing of our elected representative, Congressman Doug LaMalfa, combined with the forthcoming redistricting changes, has left our communities without a voice in Washington D.C. at a critical time,” the letter said.

The unexpected death happened with about a year left in the late congressman’s term. The current election dates announced by Newsom last month would put LaMalfa’s replacement in Congress for about six months or fewer before being replaced by the next representative elected to the recently redrawn House District 1, which no longer includes Sutter County.

Newsom scheduled the special election to run concurrently with the June 2 midterm primary election. A candidate receiving more than half of the vote in June would take over LaMalfa’s term, which expires in early January. A runoff election would take place in August if no candidate reaches a majority.

“Doug fought for our voice here in the 1st District and without a voice it’s not fair for us,” said Supervisor Mike Ziegenmeyer. “For the governor to hold the election, even a few months sooner, we think it’s important for us to have our voice heard in Washington.”

Sutter County voters opposed passage of Proposition 50

The counties in LaMalfa’s district have the choice of placing the remainder of his term on the same ballot as the other primary races in June, as a consolidated election, or to print and count separate ballots, marking it as a special election, said Donna Johnston, Sutter County registrar of voters.

Hosting the special election at a date separate from the June primary could require similar costs to the special election for Proposition 50 in November. That election cost Sutter County more than $300,000, Johnston said.

“If it were an earlier date it would be a standalone special election instead of being a consolidated election,” Johnston said.

Consolidating the race for LaMalfa’s term with the primary election saves the cost and potential confusion of printing separate ballots for the June election.

Ziegenmyer said that Newsom set the precedent for hosting and paying for special elections with his support for Proposition 50, which voters statewide strongly supported while those in Sutter County and LaMalfa’s district strongly opposed.

“The longer this goes, the longer we don’t have a voice,” Ziegenmeyer said.

Candidates for old and new districts

The passage of Proposition 50 established new congressional districts, targeted at flipping Republican strongholds, such as LaMalfa’s district, in favor of Democrat challengers. The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday declined to overturn a lower court’s ruling that allowed California to use the gerrymandered maps in the upcoming primary and general midterm elections.

Assembly member James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, announced his bid to fulfill the rest of LaMalfa’s term, and criticized Newsom’s decision to set the elections to fill the vacated seat as late as allowed by state law.

Former Senate president pro tem Mike McGuirre, D-Healdsburg, has said he will run for the newly shaped District 1, which does not include Sutter County. Audrey Denney, of Chico, plans to challenge McGuirre in the Democratic primary.

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