For citizens, the timing of the special election to replace Mark Souder comes down to this question: What is it worth to have a U.S. representative for four months?

Or to put it another way: What is the price of leaving the office vacant?

For candidates and parties, the issue isn’t so simple. They will also be looking at how timing gives them an advantage – and their opponents a disadvantage.

These are issues Gov. Mitch Daniels will very likely weigh as he decides when to schedule a special election for a new 3rd District U.S. representative to serve through the end of the year.

At best, the seat will be vacant for at least two months. Under the law, the earliest a special election can take place is late July. At the latest, the vote will coincide with the Nov. 2 general election, leaving the position vacant more than five months.

From the prospect of representative democracy, the decision should be simple: Let’s get someone in the seat as soon as possible.

That means opening and staffing precincts throughout an eight county area and counting the votes. From the prospect of local government costs, that means spending money out of their already tight budgets – an estimated $275,000 in Allen County alone. Is it worth that much to have a representative – particularly during a period when Congress will have weeks off for summer and again before the election?

After all, in coming months, Congress may well vote on an energy policy. Proposals to toughen regulation of the financial industry are likely to face votes. Whether or not to extend tax cuts should face a vote this year.

The simple question is whether one vote makes a difference – and it has on close issues such as health care reform and bailouts. But a good representative can do much behind the scenes besides vote: making sure, for example, that the plight of laid-off workers in Elkhart County is considered in unemployment insurance legislation or speaking out on behalf of the Fort Wayne VA Medical Center.

A freshman lawmaker – and a tenuous one at that, because he or she would face an election Nov. 2 – might accomplish little. But with both sides jockeying for control of the House and desperate for Nov. 2 victories, that freshman could have unusual clout as both sides seek to make sure the newcomer wins again Nov. 2.

Then there’s the political timing. If the special election is held before Nov. 2, Tom Hayhurst would almost certainly be the Democratic nominee. Republicans could very well choose the same person to be their candidate in the special election and the Nov. 2 election. Winning a special election in late July or early August would most likely give that candidate the advantage Nov. 2.

Would Hayhurst be in the better position to win a quick election? Would Marlin Stutzman, just coming off a Senate campaign, and Bob Thomas, the runner-up to Souder in the Republican primary, be able to revive their campaign apparatuses quickly? Would that give them an unfair advantage over other Republicans who might decide to run?

In addition to the politics, Daniels may well hear from the counties. Will an unexpected election severely hurt their budgets?

Perhaps the first step for the governor is to get a comprehensive estimate of exactly how much a summer special election will cost. But the governor must also consider the costs of leaving northeast Indiana without a House representative for the summer.