Several special elections took place in Massachusetts on Tuesday, including in the city of Westfield.

The primary election is in advance of a special election this spring to fill the seat of state Rep. Humason. He was elected to the Massachusetts Senate in November. Even though Democrat John Velis, who served in Afghanistan as a captain in the U.S. Army, and Republican Daniel Allie, a Westfield City Councilor, are running uncontested, in Massachusetts a primary election has to be conducted before a general election.

“According to state statue, every state general election has to be preceded by a primary and I believe the purposes for that is if someone wants to run a write-in campaign, they could,” says Westfield City Clerk Karen Fanion.

Tuesday’s election will cost the city of Westfield about $30,000 to  cover police detail, poll workers, and transporting voting equipment. The general election for the seat is scheduled for Apr. 1. The winner will fill the seat for the remainder of the term. It’s up for grabs again in November.