(Harrisburg) -- The state House speaker says he doesn’t believe he is able to legally call special elections for the six seats vacated when their holders were elected to other offices. A group of residents in the half dozen districts has filed a lawsuit, asking the state Supreme Court to force special elections to be held alongside the April 24th primary. But, House Speaker Sam Smith disputes the contention that he's disenfranchising those districts. "It’s not like it changes the majority in the House, it’s not like a total flip in power," he says. "Those seats don’t, you know, they change the dynamics a little bit, you know, in terms of floor action, but they don’t, they don’t create a complete change of you know, of control of the House." Four of the six vacant House seats were held by Democrats. Smith insists he's not allowed to call special elections until new legislative district lines are approved by the Legislative Reapportionment Commission. The panel is slated to meet later today in Harrisburg. An attorney representing the residents who filed the suit says the Speaker's failure to act constitutes a ``dereliction of duty.''