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If Pompeo Confirmed As CIA Director, Here's What To Expect For 4th Congressional District Seat

If U.S. Rep. Mike Pompeo of Kansas is confirmed as the next CIA director, several steps will have to play out to name his successor.

Gov. Sam Brownback would have five days to call for a special election to replace the Republican congressman. That election would have to be held 75 to 90 days after he proclamation is issued. That's a change from previous state law, which required special elections to be held within 60 days.

Kansas lawmakers approved a bill earlier this month lengthening the election timeline to put the state in compliance with federal election rules.

Recognized parties would hold conventions within 25 days after the proclamation to nominate their candidate for the vacant seat.

Jon Von Achen, assistant counsel for Sedgwick County, says it's not a traditional race.

"It doesn’t go through a primary process that we would go through for a regular election," he says. "So the Republicans would hold a convention, the Democrats would hold a convention, the Libertarians will hold a convention, and only the people allowed to vote at that convention would be party members."

Any independent candidate would be required to obtain signatures from 3,000 qualified voters -- down from the previous 17,000 -- from the 4th Congressional District. Once the election is held, canvassed and certified by the state, the winner would be sworn in.

Von Achen says that during the election timeframe when the seat is empty, no one can vote in the U.S. House on behalf of the 4th Congressional District.

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Carla Eckels is assistant news director and the host of Soulsations. Follow her on Twitter @Eckels.

 

To contact KMUW News or to send in a news tip, reach us at news@kmuw.org.

Carla Eckels is Director of Organizational Culture at KMUW. She produces and hosts the R&B and gospel show Soulsations and brings stories of race and culture to The Range with the monthly segment In the Mix. Carla was inducted into The Kansas African American Museum's Trailblazers Hall of Fame in 2020 for her work in broadcast/journalism.