"Expensive special elections are often ignored by voters"

Interviewed for this one on KPCC. 

"We have way too many special elections, so they're actually not-so-special elections," says Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School. She makes the case for allowing the governor to fill vacancies in the Legislature.
 
"When we're talking about the alternative, when we're talking about appointments, it's important to remember that it's not a king or an unelected monarch that is potentially making the appointments," she said. "In the case of the California Legislature, it could be the governor, who everyone in California had the opportunity to vote [for]."