For One Senate Seat In Illinois, Two Elections On The Same Day

CHICAGO — In all the fuss over the Senate seat that President Obama left behind here, and whether it was offered up in a nefarious trade, some people demanded a clean start. Let the voters of Illinois elect someone to fill the vacancy.

The simple idea has been granted.

But as only Illinois, and its topsy-turvy politics, might execute such things, the new election has been set for Nov. 2 — almost two years after Mr. Obama left the seat and on the very day that voters will also choose his permanent successor.

So voters have the somewhat puzzling opportunity to pick a replacement for the remaining weeks of Mr. Obama’s original term and, in the same visit to the polls, choose a new senator to begin a full term on Jan. 3.

All of which brings to mind some peculiar, if unlikely, possibilities. Might Representative Mark Steven Kirk, the Republican nominee, win the two-month Senate job, and Alexi Giannoulias, the Democrat, capture the six-year spot? Or vice versa?

In fairness, some had pressed for this special election in late 2008, when Rod R. Blagojevich — the former governor who by then was charged with trying to trade the seat for money or a job — defied a chorus of critics and appointed Roland W. Burris, a fellow Democrat.

By February 2009, some reform-minded residents filed a lawsuit arguing that the state’s handling of the seat amounted to a violation of the 17th Amendment of the Constitution, which sets forth how senators should be chosen. Illinois law calls on governors to temporarily fill empty Senate seats until the next election, but the 17th Amendment also calls for state leaders, in such cases, to issue “writs of election” — or, as Martin J. Oberman, a lawyer for the residents, said in simpler terms, start the process of planning a vote.

After initially losing in a lower court, the notion succeeded on appeal, and last week a final order was being drawn up, election date and all. Those who sought the election said they were pleased, though they had hardly pictured a date quite so late.

In the confusion, of course, some here were already contemplating political reward. If one candidate wins both votes, Illinois’s new senator will arrive a few weeks earlier than other newcomers, presumably gaining seniority status for committees.

And some here wondered whether the nominees might now seek twice as much money from contributors without breaking campaign limits. This was, after all, two elections now, right?