CNN: Giffords to Resign from Congress

Which brings up a good point...why the hell does it take Arazona alnost 6 months to hold an election after she finally did the right thing?

16-221. Special election to fill vacancy in Congress

Special elections to fill a vacancy in the office of a representative in Congress shall be held only on the proclamation of the governor and for that purpose only.
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16-222. Vacancy in the office of United States senator or representative

A. When a vacancy occurs in the office of United States senator or representative in Congress by reason of death or resignation, or from any other cause, the vacancy shall be filled at the next general election. At such election the person elected shall fill the unexpired term of the vacated office.

B. For a vacancy in the office of representative in Congress, if the next general election is not to be held within six months from the date of the occurrence of the vacancy, the governor shall call a special primary election and a special general election to fill the vacancy. The governor shall call the special primary election and establish its date within seventy-two hours after the office is officially declared vacant. Notwithstanding sections 16-313, 16-351 and 16-542, for a candidate for office at an election held pursuant to this subsection, the following apply:

1. The special primary election shall be held no less than eighty nor more than ninety days after the occurrence of the vacancy, and the special general election shall be held not less than fifty nor more than sixty days after the special primary election.

2. Nomination papers and nomination petitions shall be filed no later than thirty days after the date of the proclamation calling the election.

3. Any court action challenging the nomination of a candidate shall be filed no later than 5:00 p.m. on the fifth business day after the last day for filing nomination papers and petitions.

4. The superior court shall hear and render a decision within five days after the filing of the action.

5. Beginning fifteen days before the date of the election, the county recorder or other officer in charge of elections shall mail early ballots within forty-eight hours after receipt of a complete and correct early ballot request from persons qualified to vote.

C. For a vacancy in the office of United States senator, the governor shall appoint a person to fill the vacancy. That appointee shall be of the same political party as the person vacating the office and shall serve until the person elected at the next general election is qualified and assumes office.

D. For a vacancy in the office of representative in Congress that occurs simultaneously with at least one hundred additional vacancies in the office of representative in Congress as prescribed by 2 United States Code section 8, a special general election to fill the vacancy in this state shall be held no more than forty-nine days after the declaration of the vacancy unless a regularly scheduled general election or previously scheduled special general election is held within seventy-five days after the declaration of the vacancy.
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16-223. Issuance of proclamation for special election by governor; publication by boards of supervisors

A. Within ten days after a vacancy occurs in the office of representative in Congress, if a special primary and special general election are required by section 16-222, the governor shall issue a proclamation containing a statement of the time of the special primary election and the special general election and the offices to be filled.

B. The governor shall transmit a copy of the election proclamation to the clerk of each board of supervisors of the several counties.

C. The board of supervisors shall be notified by the clerk of receipt of the election proclamation, and within five days after its receipt the board shall meet and publish a copy of the election proclamation in an official newspaper of the county at least five days before the special primary election and at least five days before the special general election.
http://www.azleg.gov/ArizonaRevisedStatutes.asp?Title=16

I was a victim of non-representation in the House,
when my Representative, Weiner, resigned in disgrace.
It took a few weeks or a few months b4 we had a special election to fill that seat

I think it took 3 months to fill Weiner's seat, David. He resigned in June, and the special election was held in September (on NY's primary election day). But I don't think NY had to hold a special primary election prior to that special general election to fill Weiner's seat. Do you know whether they did?

State law on these matters might differ from state to state.

Also, the governor of NY could have waited several months before announcing the special election to fill Weiner's seat--something he chose not to do--but that is what his predecessor did before announcing the special election to fill Gillibrand's vacated Congressional seat. So, NY doesn't always schedule those special elections as quickly as three months either.

A lot of political considerations went into when the special election for Weiner's seat was scheduled.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/16/cuomo-faces-strategic-chi_n_878153.html

This is hypocrisy in action; the counter-argument to that
is that she gets paid to represent the citizens of her State,
not to represent herself.

This is hypocrisy in action; the counter-argument to that
is that she gets paid to represent the citizens of her State,
not to represent herself.

Isn't that the way of all politics? If you don't compromise you won't get anywhere. Most people win by going for the middle ground, you don't tend to get elected by staying in the margins.