Update 10/9/2020
On Friday, October 9, Vice Chancellor Glasscock handed down an opinion in the case brought by the League of Women Voters of Delaware seeking to extend the ballot deadline for mail-in ballots in the November 3, 2020 general election. The Court held that while the plaintiffs’ concerns regarding USPS delays and votes going uncounted were not frivolous, the threat of disenfranchisement was too speculative at this juncture to warrant relief.
“Voting is our most fundamental right and the ACLU of Delaware will always fight to protect and expand that right,” said Karen Lantz, Legal and Policy Director of the ACLU of Delaware, “We are disappointed in the Court’s ruling and will be discussing next steps with our clients, but no matter what happens next, we won’t stop fighting to protect the vote in Delaware.”
The Plaintiffs and the ACLU of Delaware are grateful to David Fry of Shaw Keller LLP for ably leading this action.
On Wednesday, September 2, in cooperation with Shaw Keller, LLP partner David Fry, we filed a lawsuit against the Department of Elections that aims to ensure absentee and vote by mail ballots are counted if they were mailed timely but are received by mail after Election Day. The lawsuit addresses the General Election to be held on November 3, 2020.
Currently, absentee and mail-in ballots must be received by 8 p.m. on Election Day to be counted. Our lawsuit seeks to change this deadline by asking the Courts to order that the Department of Elections accept all ballots mailed by Election Day and received within 10 days of the election, in light of the pandemic and ongoing concerns around the US Postal Service's ability to promptly deliver mail-in ballots.
The defendants in the case are the Delaware Department of Elections and the State Election Commissioner Anthony J. Albence, in his official capacity. The plaintiffs are the League of Women Voters Delaware, Inc. and an individual voter.
