Renewed demand to change the way open seats filled

With the exception of the Kennedy seat, the other six have been or will be filled by people appointed by their state’s governors. FairVote, a nonpartisan group that promotes greater access to the political process, said the departures mean that four out of the five most populous states - Illinois, New York, Florida, and Texas - and almost 27 percent of the US population, will be represented by senators who were not elected.

Critics also point to the manner in which some have been filled.

In Illinois, impeached former governor Rod Blagojevich faces charges that he tried to sell Obama’s old seat. Roland Burris, the eventual appointee, has not been implicated in the scandal, but has been tainted by the controversy and will not be running for a full term.

Governor Ruth Ann Minner of Delaware tapped Ted Kaufman, a former Biden aide and law school professor, to hold Biden’s seat until next year, when Biden’s son Beau, the state attorney general, returns from military duty in Iraq and is expected to contend for the Senate seat.

Senator Russ Feingold, a Wisconsin Democrat, has introduced a constitutional amendment requiring elections for Senate vacancies - the Constitution already requires House vacancies to be filled by elections - and end what Feingold called “an antidemocratic process that denies voters the opportunity to determine who represents them in the US Senate.’’

But special elections have their detractors, who argue that they are too expensive, take too much time to organize, and draw low voter turnouts.

The Democratic-controlled Legislature in Massachusetts in 2004 changed state law to require special elections and prevent then-Governor Mitt Romney, a Republican, from naming a replacement had Senator John F. Kerry won the presidency.

Just days before his death, Kennedy asked state lawmakers to revert to the old system so Governor Deval Patrick, a Democrat, could name a successor if Kennedy had to leave office. This would avoid leaving his seat vacant for up to five months before a special election could be held and ensure Democrats wouldn’t lose a vote crucial to passing the health care legislation about which Kennedy was so passionate.