Since when was efficiency the goal of a democracy?
Indeed, special elections cost money, but if money is the primary concern, why hold elections at all? I imagine there is a clever despot somewhere in world history that has made such an argument. Nearly a quarter of the entire Colorado General Assembly is made up of legislators who earned their seats by vacancy committee. Regardless if you are satisfied with certain “chosen” legislators that come from this system, one must admit it is concerning how many of our leaders have never had to face 99% of the voters in their district.
If you’re unfamiliar, these vacancy committees are made up of a few dozen individuals chosen by the political party of the departed member. My counterpart is concerned a district would be deprived of representation if not for those few dozen quickly choosing a replacement. I believe labeling the outcome of a system such as this as “representation” is a gross abuse of the word. A few dozen voters from one political party are not representative of the entire district.