Special elections to fill three seats in the Tennessee legislature could cost taxpayers up to $570,000 after one resignation and two expulsions.
Republican state Rep. Scotty Campbell of Mountain City resigned abruptly from his District 3 seat last week amid a report that he sexually harassed a 19-year-old intern in the General Assembly. District 3 includes Johnson and parts of Carter, Hawkins and Sullivan counties.
Days earlier, Democratic Reps. Justin Jones of District 52 in Nashville and Justin Pearson of District 86 in Memphis were reseated after being expelled from the legislature for violating decorum with a House floor protest against lax gun laws as hundreds of people rallied following the mass shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville.
(READ MORE: In Tennessee, expulsions echo a decades-old protest movement)
The Metro Council and Shelby County Commission voted to reappoint Jones and Pearson, respectively, just days after their expulsion.