What happens when elected officials do not fulfill their term?

SOMERSET — It is rare that elected officials voluntarily do not fulfill the term of years the voters give them through the ballot box. When it does happen, there are legal steps to follow. Two vacancies in Somerset County opened this year, one because of a change in an elected position (and will be official in January) and the other due to an early retirement (in October) that involved the prothonotary and the president judge. Both positions were not up for election until 2025. Now that the elected prothonotary, Brian Fochtman, will be leaving his post to take on the mantle of commissioner in January, what is going to happen to the vacated slot? “I will resign and my first…