Today is the last day to register to vote for the upcoming special elections.

The elections, which are scheduled to take place March 20, are to fill three vacant seats in the state Legislature.

Candidates for the seat left behind by Mike Rogers, R-Brighton, who won the 8th Congressional District race in November, include Rep. Valde Garcia, R-St. Johns and Larry Julian, R-Lennon. Because of the short amount of time left before the election, Julian has already started campaigning.

“The campaign’s going wonderfully, and we’re right on schedule,” Julian said.

Many of the Repubican candidates already have spent time in the state government, something Julian isn’t sure will affect the race.

“I don’t know if it helps. Is it a factor for voters? I don’t know. I guess we’ll find out in the election,” he said.

Because of the Republican strength in the district, Julian and other Republicans announced their candidacy before January, and have already set up office and begun to go door-to-door in order to drum up interest.

The spots were previously held by Rogers, Detroit Democrat Virgil Smith, who resigned from his position in the Michigan Senate, and State Rep. Janet Kukuk, who lost a battle with cancer shortly after the election.

By Michigan law, all three spots must be filled by a special election. Gov. John Engler announced the dates for the necessary primaries and elections on Jan.11.

A primary has been scheduled for Feb. 27 to narrow down the field for the March election. The last time a special election was held in Michigan was in April 1994 for the 69th district, which includes Lansing.

Many of the Republican candidates for the available 26th district already have served in state government, while the Democratic candidates have not. Many Democratic candidates also delayed campaigning as they debate whether to run.

Michigan Democratic Party Spokesman Dennis Denno said he hopes his party’s candidates can draw enough interest to win the available spots, despite the area’s right-wing voters and a predicted low voter turnout, which has been low in past special elections.

“(The 8th Congressional District) is a very difficult Senate seat,” Denno said. “There’s no question that if we want to win it, we need to get as many Democrats out there as possible.”

Because of the lack of state experience and the strength of the Republican Party in the areas, Bill Ballenger, editor and publisher of the Lansing-based newsletter Inside Michigan Politics, believes any Democratic candidate will have a hard time winning the election, especially with the expected low voter turnout.

“It’s about a 60-40 Republican majority,” Ballenger said. “(Democratic candidates) will have a distinct disadvantage”