Wayne Wallingford's former seat one of multiple vacancies in Missouri House

As of today, six of the 163 seats in the lower house of the Missouri General Assembly do not have representatives — with all six unfilled seats previously held by the GOP.

Republicans now hold 108 House seats because of the vacancies, one shy of the 109 GOP members needed to override any potential legislative vetoes by Gov. Mike Parson — if there is no Democratic support.

Wayne Wallingford of Cape Girardeau (R-147) gave up his seat effective at 11:59 p.m. Sunday to become director of the state's Department of Revenue.

Other current vacancies

• District 34 has been unrepresented since the April 21 expulsion of GOP Rep. Rick Roeber of Lee's Summit. Roeber's colleagues removed him by a 153-0 vote at the recommendation of the House Ethics Committee. The panel conducted a four-month investigation into allegations Roeber sexually abused his then-minor children in the early 1990s.
• District 61 became vacant effective today because of the resignation of Republican Rep. Aaron Griesheimer of Washington. Griesheimer, first elected in 2018, has taken a job in the private sector.
• District 65 has not had a lawmaker in the House since the death of GOP Rep. Tom Hannegan of St. Charles County, who died of a stroke Oct. 21 at the age of 51.
• District 108 became unrepresented as of Wednesday because of Republican Rep. Justin Hill of Lake Saint Louis taking a position with a Florida-based consulting firm.
• District 114 has been vacant since Rep, Becky Ruth of Festus resigned Nov. 30 to become director of the Missouri Office of Child Advocate.

Process

The Southeast Missourian asked Parson's communications director Kelli R. Jones Wednesday morning about the timeline for filling Wallingford's vacancy.

"At this time, the Governor's Office has not gotten a request for a special election," Jones replied via email.

However, Missouri law indicates the governor is required by statute to take the initiative in filling legislative vacancies.

According to Revised Statutes of Missouri, RSMo. 21.110, "Governor shall issue writs of election, when — if the governor receives any resignation or notice of vacancy, or if he is satisfied of the death of any member of either house, during the recess, he shall, without delay, issue a writ of election to supply the vacancy."

On Wednesday afternoon, Missouri's GOP secretary of state did call for special elections for the vacant House seats, citing RSMo. 21.110.

In a letter to the governor, John R. (Jay) Ashcroft said, "I am calling on you to issue writs of election 'without delay' for these vacant seats. If the writs are issued by January 10, 2022, these elections could be held with the April 5th Municipal Election with minimal cost to the taxpayer, but substantial benefit to Missourians."

Ashcroft also stated in the letter that without a special election, these seats will remain vacant until January 2023.

"Residents in the affected districts will be represented only by their state senator as lawmakers take crucial votes on spending, abortion and congressional redistricting. As a state, it is critical that we take the appropriate steps to ensure that all Missourians are fairly, justly and equitably represented at all levels of government. By calling a special election, these vacant seats can be filled and the constituents of these districts can again have full representation in the Missouri General Assembly."

There was no response from Gov. Parson's office by presstime.

Wallingford, in announcing his impending resignation last week, mentioned the possibility of a special election to fill his 147th District House seat but added as a practical matter, with the legislative primary elections set for Aug. 2, it was possible Parson might allow the seat to remain unfilled in the interim. Wallingford surmised state Sen. Holly Rehder (R-27), representing a six-county region, including the City of Cape Girardeau, could be contacted by his former constituents until the 147th District seat is filled.

The General Assembly convened in regular session, as required, on Wednesday.

Redistricting

Final lawmaker boundary maps for the state House and Senate must be submitted by gubernatorial-appointed citizen commissions in both chambers by Jan. 23 to reflect population changes in the 2020 Census.

If a unified plan does not emerge by the required date, the Missouri Supreme Court will appoint appeals court judges to resolve the issue and draw the boundaries. After the last two Census results, judges stepped in to draw the legislative boundaries in 2011 and 2001.