diff --git a/src/vs/editor/common/controller/cursorTypeOperations.ts b/src/vs/editor/common/controller/cursorTypeOperations.ts
index d50d128f0d5..13b79a281fe 100644
--- a/src/vs/editor/common/controller/cursorTypeOperations.ts
+++ b/src/vs/editor/common/controller/cursorTypeOperations.ts
@@ -464,7 +464,7 @@ export class TypeOperations {
 	}
 
 	private static _typeInterceptorElectricChar(config: CursorConfiguration, model: ITokenizedModel, cursor: SingleCursorState, ch: string): EditOperationResult {
-		if (!config.electricChars.hasOwnProperty(ch)) {
+		if (!config.electricChars.hasOwnProperty(ch) || !cursor.selection.isEmpty()) {
 			return null;
 		}
 
diff --git a/src/vs/editor/test/common/controller/cursor.test.ts b/src/vs/editor/test/common/controller/cursor.test.ts
index 315b67ef74a..59ea9aa805c 100644
--- a/src/vs/editor/test/common/controller/cursor.test.ts
+++ b/src/vs/editor/test/common/controller/cursor.test.ts
@@ -2965,6 +2965,23 @@ suite('ElectricCharacter', () => {
 		});
 		mode.dispose();
 	});
+
+	test('issue #23711: Replacing selected text with )]} fails to delete old text with backwards-dragged selection', () => {
+		let mode = new ElectricCharMode();
+		usingCursor({
+			text: [
+				'{',
+				'word'
+			],
+			languageIdentifier: mode.getLanguageIdentifier()
+		}, (model, cursor) => {
+			moveTo(cursor, 2, 5);
+			moveTo(cursor, 2, 1, true);
+			cursorCommand(cursor, H.Type, { text: '}' }, 'keyboard');
+			assert.deepEqual(model.getLineContent(2), '}');
+		});
+		mode.dispose();
+	});
 });
 
 suite('autoClosingPairs', () => {