2024 VoteDelaware Questionnaire Responses: Governor-Elect Matt Meyer

1. The Education Equity Ombudsperson program was established to assist families remedy inequities in Delaware Schools. Will you continue to maintain the current annual funding of 1 million or increase the budget to support students statewide facing inequitable treatment?

YES
I not only commit to boosting investment in public education by an additional $3,400 to $6,400 per student, but also to allocate resources based on a 2025 formula using 21st-century values. Resources should be allocated according to student needs, especially for low-income students, those with disabilities, and English language learners.

2. The Secretary of Education plays a critical role and requires someone with experience turning around school districts. What is your criteria for hiring the next Secretary of Education?

My choice for Secretary of Education will share my commitment to improving Delaware’s education system by focusing on improving funding, closing disparities, and expanding opportunities. We will collaborate with Delaware teachers, increase investment and equity in school funding, address the teacher shortage, increase educator salaries, ensure statewide access to universal pre-K, as well as enhance primary, secondary, vocational, and technical education for all students.

3. A recent independent report commissioned by the State of Delaware found that public schools across the state are underfunded by $600 million dollars and recommended increased per-pupil funding, transparency, and the flexibility to allocate resources. If elected what concrete steps would you propose to take to ensure districts close the funding deficit to provide a constitutionally adequate education?

We must invest more in Delaware’s public education system and distribute resources more equitably, according to student need, to support low-income students, students with disabilities, and English language learners. The current funding system, based on unit count, is archaic, established in the 1940s. I will implement a weighted funding formula based on dollars instead of positions, in order to provide greater funding transparency to all Delawareans, including policymakers, school administrators, teachers, and families. The state’s effective tax rates vary substantially amongst school districts, with some shouldering tax rates almost four times higher than others. A formula considering both state and local revenue, generating target funding levels for each district or school, will contribute to balancing local capacity. This will ensure fair funding levels, accounting for both state and local revenue variations, ultimately fostering educational equity across the state. 

4. There are currently an estimated 5,000 undocumented children in Delaware living without access to basic healthcare services. This past session, the General Assembly failed to pass the “Cover All Children Act” which would have been a critical first step in developing a medical coverage program for children in Delaware who are not otherwise covered, including kids who are undocumented. Will you support legislation like the “Cover All Children Act” that ensures undocumented children are protected and cared for?  

YES
Emphatically, yes. As New Castle County Executive, I have championed progressive policies to make New Castle County a place where immigrants can thrive, including standing up to then President Donald Trump so that our County police and libraries were and are welcome to all equally, regardless of immigrant status. We also invested public funds to ensure we are a place that welcomes refugees and asylum seekers, including providing housing through the Hope Center. The Cover All Delaware Children Act is an incredibly important bill that makes sure children and pregnant women have the healthcare that they need. It not only is critical to providing services equitably, it is also smart public health policy.

5. Over the past few decades, many immigrants have chosen to make Delaware their home and have become vital members of our communities. Will you support increasing translation and interpretation services in government agency buildings and in public schools to help immigrants navigate the systems we all use? 

YES
Language should not be a barrier to public programs. I will support government funding for interpreters to assist in accessing government services. We also will assess and redouble efforts to hire individuals with both language and cultural competency, across state agencies and in our public schools.

6. Currently, agricultural and domestic workers are exempt from state labor protections which means that workers in those fields, many of whom are immigrants and work dangerous jobs, are left with few ways to protect themselves. Will you support the removal of this exemption, so that all workers, regardless of their job, have the same protections? 

YES
All workers deserve a fair and safe working environment. 

8. Black maternal mortality rates continue to increase in Delaware, with the gap in healthcare disparities widening. Will you support the creation of a Reproductive Healthcare Equity Fund that would support the additional costs of accessing reproductive healthcare for uninsured or underinsured people and fund the recruitment and expansion of the number of healthcare providers, including doula providers, in the state? 

YES
I was an early supporter of the First State Abortion Fund and will always protect a woman’s right to choose. Further, I will always support women’s healthcare. I will maintain Delaware’s membership in the Reproductive Freedom Alliance, a non-partisan coalition of Governors committed to protecting and expanding access to reproductive care. I will champion a constitutional amendment to enshrine a woman’s right to choose in the Delaware constitution. In addition, no person should risk eviction, health complications, loss of employment, or other consequences to cover their medical care. Last year, the legislature failed to enact a measure to ensure that people on Medicaid, private, and state insurance plans can access abortion care without financial burden. As Governor, I will work to enact this needed legislation. Seventeen states have adopted Medicaid funding for abortion; Delaware must, as well.

9. Delaware’s Clean Slate Act is set to become effective in August 2024. Will you ensure the more than 290,000 eligible records are cleared within your first 3 months in office?  

YES
As one of my first acts of office, I commit to a plan to make sure that everyone who is eligible for mandatory expungement will get it as quickly as possible. I also will work to pardon low-level marijuana convictions. I will work to implement policies that eliminate punishment for crimes of poverty.

10. Delaware’s probation system is broken. It does not provide the resources and support needed for successful reentry, while allowing for overly harsh punishment for minor infractions. Will you support legislation tailoring probation conditions to the needs and circumstances of the individual and restricting the use of incarceration when no new crime has been committed?  

YES
The number of people who are incarcerated in Delaware because of a minor probation violation - not because they committed a new crime - is way too high. We have an unduly restrictive probation system that locks people up for technical violations like arriving late for an appointment. I support meaningful probation reform, which emphasizes rehabilitation and support, restricts the use of incarceration for technical violations, and limits maximum incarceration length. I agree with customizing probation conditions to individual needs and rigorously collecting and analyzing data on probation and parole to reduce recidivism rates. I support a criminal justice system that sets people up to succeed, not that sets them backward. I also believe we need to support those who have served their time with resources and opportunities to increase the likelihood of success outside of the criminal justice system.

11. It is well documented that older incarcerated adults are less likely to commit new crimes if released. Will you support legislation that would expand compassionate release for older incarcerated adults? 

YES
I support compassionate release for older incarcerated adults and those with serious medical conditions. A 2021 Delaware Department of Correction report showed that more than 20% of incarcerated people were 51-years-old or older. Multiple studies suggest that criminality declines with age. I believe that compassionate release promotes a criminal justice system that is more humane, honors rehabilitation, and acknowledges that people can change for the better.

12. Michigan is poised to be the first state in the country to apply its automatic voter registration to citizens returning from incarceration. Automatically registering these citizens to vote makes communities safer and can increase voter participation in historically disenfranchised communities. Will you direct the Commissioner of Elections to implement an automatic voter registration program under existing law for citizens returning from incarceration in Delaware?

YES
I will work aggressively to make voting easier and more accessible for all citizens, including mail-in voting, no excuse absentee voting, and the restoration of full voting rights for those who were previously incarcerated. 

13. Delaware law does not disenfranchise people incarcerated for misdemeanors and people incarcerated while awaiting trial. However, these voters are not offered an in-person opportunity to vote. Due to the difficulties of requesting and submitting absentee ballots while incarcerated, only 4 ballots were received from eligible incarcerated voters in 2022. Will you support adopting in-person voting opportunities for eligible, incarcerated voters?

YES
I will make sure that everyone who is eligible to vote will be able to vote.