If Stevens holds on to win re-election, as it appears he will, and then is expelled by the Senate, what happens? Election Law explains it’s much as you might expect: Governor Palin will appoint a temporary replacement and then a special election will be called. However, a new Alaska law passed by voter initiative requires the special election be called sooner than you might expect, after just a few months.
When will Stevens be expelled? Harry Reid has indicated that he will not wait for Stevens’s appeal to be heard, but he needs a 2/3 majority, and it’s not clear whether Republicans agree. Personally, I hope they do. A criminal conviction should be more than enough.
It’s also been suggested that Stevens’s re-election after his conviction provides a presumption against expulsion. I don’t buy that at all. Surely plenty of Alaskans voted for Stevens anticipating that he would be forced from office and Palin would appoint a Republican successor. (That’s how I would have voted.) So under these circumstances, his narrow re-election can hardly be taken as an endorsement that he should remain in office.
(Via Volokh.)
UPDATE: Actually, it’s a bit more complicated. Apparently, it’s not entirely clear whether the Governor can appoint a temporary successor. It might be that the seat remains open until the special election.
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