Statement from SDARJ Concerning the February 23, 2024 Decision of the Delaware Superior Court Affecting Delawarean’s Voting Rights
The Delaware Superior Court struck a blow to the voting rights of Delawareans on February 23, 2024 when it invalidated Delaware’s early voting and permanent absentee voting laws. These laws previously allowed voters to cast ballots for at least 10 days prior to the day of the election and allowed certain voters eligible to vote absentee under the Delaware Constitution to receive absentee ballots without having to re-apply each election cycle. Practically speaking, the laws allowed Delawareans — especially the elderly, the disabled, those of lesser means, and those stationed overseas — greater access to the ballot, and the court’s voiding of these laws may lead to the disenfranchisement of tens of thousands of Delaware residents.
For years, Delaware’s voting laws were among the most restrictive in the country, but that began to change in 2019, when the General Assembly passed a law allowing residents to vote in person up to 10 days before Election Day. Then, in 2020, due to the pandemic, Delaware temporarily expanded voting access by allowing registered voters to vote by mail, expanding Delaware’s absentee system, which required voters to provide an excuse to vote by mail. In 2022, further legislation was passed permitting anyone to vote by mail without an excuse and to register to vote up to Election Day.
When Delaware lawmakers enacted these voting reforms, they simply amended Delaware’s laws. Since then, Republicans have initiated and won court actions challenging these voting reforms on grounds that they violated the Delaware Constitution. In 2019, Democrats introduced a bill to amend the Delaware Constitution to include these rights. Although it passed with the support of 12 of the 15 Republican representatives, not one Republican would vote for it in 2021, and it takes passage in two consecutive legislative sessions for an amendment to become part of the Constitution.
Delaware’s regressive voting restrictions affect many people who are not able to take time off work or have other commitments that prevent them showing up on Election Day and waiting in line to cast a ballot. Parents with children at home, low-income workers, shift workers, those with disabilities, the elderly, and overseas families often can’t be at the polls on the state’s predetermined voting day. As Attorney General Kathleen Jennings noted in her statement regarding the court’s latest ruling, “This ruling means Delawareans’ access to the ballot is now among the worst in America. 25 states have stronger permanent absentee protections than us. 46 states allow early voting . . . . we are at the bottom of the barrel along with all but three other states.” She went on to say that the lawsuit “has now successfully disenfranchised our state’s most vulnerable and most noble voters — veterans, the disabled, caregivers, and working people. 21,000 of them in the case of permanent absentee, and 56,000 in the case of early voting.”
SDARJ opposes these lawsuits challenging efforts to pass laws expanding access to the ballot box on constitutional grounds, while refusing to adopt constitutional amendments that would remove the alleged constitutional infirmities. It is clear that the Constitution is not the problem for Republicans; rather, expanding access to voting is.
Making voting easier will allow for more people to exercise their Constitutional right to vote and prevent the disenfranchisement of thousands of Delawareans. Let’s make sure that our legislators know that we want a Delaware in which the right to vote is made accessible and a reality for all.
