The death of a leader in office, a resignation, or the appointment of a leader to a different role are all situations that may trigger a __________.

When an elected office becomes vacant before the regular term ends—for example, because the officeholder dies, resigns, or takes another role—a special election may be held to choose a replacement. A general election is the regularly scheduled election, while a runoff is held when no candidate meets a required threshold in an earlier election.

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