Healthy turnover is what empowers a legislature to adapt with the times while still retaining institutional knowledge. An effective government builds trust and engages with the public, and it needs legislators who feel supported in performing their civic duties. Unfortunately, elected officials across the country face increasingly insurmountable challenges, including rising consumer costs, heightened levels of political violence, and caregiving demands. These struggles force many to reconsider their future in public office, and some legislators ultimately make the difficult decision to leave before the end of their elected terms.

Elected officials leaving office before the end of their term has significant impacts on civic life. State legislators pass laws, determine state budgets, and set taxes. When these offices sit empty, the interests of voters go unrepresented.

In collaboration with the Institute for Responsive Government (IRG), CTCL is proud to share the release of our latest report, When Lawmakers Leave Office: Exploring Early Departures in State Legislatures Across the United States. 

Through an analysis of state legislative vacancies using data from CTCL’s Governance Project dataset occurring between 2020 and 2025, this project aims to identify trends of lawmakers who leave office before completing their elected term. This study examines how often early departures occurred, who those lawmakers were, and the reasons why they left early. With this information, CTCL and IRG seek to understand how to better support public servants across the political spectrum during their time in office. By highlighting effective state policies and relevant resources, policymakers can choose to help to improve the experiences of state legislators, who, in turn, can better serve the constituents who they were elected to represent. 

You can read the full report here.

Did you know? Between 2020-2025, vacancies in state legislatures occurred across all 50 states.