The Every Vote Counts Campaign was launched on March 12, 2024 as a long-term, multi-year plan to secure and expand access to voting for Delawareans. The campaign aims to 1) restore voting rights after felony incarceration, 2) expand and protect early in-person and vote-by-mail, and 3) implement same-day voter registration.
The ACLU of Delaware decided to pursue this campaign after recent litigation and legislative logjams made clear that Delaware lags behind other states in voter-access and recent, positive voting rights developments in Delaware are vulnerable to court challenges.
How this will work?
Amending the constitution which requires 2/3 majorities in successive General Assemblies. Our aim is to elevate the positions of candidates on critical democracy issues, so that voters may cast their ballot for those who most closely align with their values. In addition, the campaign utilizes community organizing, lobbying, and legal advocacy to push for these reforms and ensure voters can cast their ballots without encountering barriers.
Watch the EVC Campaign Launch Press Conference
Read the EVC Campaign Launch Press Release
Our Priorities
Fighting Felony Disenfranchisement
Criminal legal disenfranchisement laws have a direct connection to Jim Crow laws that were promoted after the Civil War, which sought to deny the right to vote to Black Americans. Given our legal system’s disparate treatment of Black and brown people, it is no shock that a disproportionate number of the more than 7,000 people disenfranchised due to these laws in Delaware are people of color. As of 2022, felony disenfranchisement affected 7,721 voters, 52% were Black and 56% were no longer incarcerated. Polling of Delawareans showed that 72% support restoring voting rights upon release for those who are disenfranchised after committing a felony.
Delaware is an outlier when it comes to felony disenfranchisement. It is the only state in the Northeast which permanently disenfranchises at least some of its returning citizens and is one of only 10 states in the entire country to do so for people convicted of offenses unrelated to the conduct of elections.
Expanding and Protecting Early In-Person and Vote-By-Mail
Delaware voters had early in-person voting and vote-by-mail options in the past and extensively relied upon them. In fact, when both options were available to Delawareans during the 2022 primary, approximately 1 in 4 Delawareans voted early either in person or through a vote-by-mail ballot. Polling of Delawareans showed that 69% support extending the early voting period and 57% support allowing all voters to vote by mail.
Delaware currently has early in-person voting, but it remains vulnerable to future lawsuits. If Delaware were to lose early in-person voting options, it would be one of four states in the entire country to not give its voters this option for casting ballots, joining Alabama, Mississippi, and New Hampshire. Delaware is also one of just 14 states which requires voters to give an excuse to cast an absentee ballot.
Implementing Same-Day Voter Registration
Delaware currently ranks 34th out of the 50 states when it comes to its onerous, 24-day voter registration deadline. Young voters and voters from historically marginalized communities are impacted most acutely by the deadline. In fact, in 2018, the Center for American Progress estimated that if DE had same-day registration, there would have been 22,259 additional voters. Polling of Delawareans showed that 59% support same-day registration.
Get Involved
Delaware Voting Rights Coalition
Under the umbrella of the Delaware Voting Rights Coalition (DVRC) consists of advocates encouraging voters and policymakers to consider reforms that will improve access to voting. DVRC empowers communities, especially communities of color, people who speak English as a second language, people involved in the justice system, people with disabilities, and young people, to identify and remedy barriers to the ballot box. The coalition is ready to work with legislators, local election officials, and the Department of Elections to make these reform recommendations a reality.
Learn more about the coalition
Help us expand voting rights in Delaware by Volunteering
Upcoming Campaign Training and Events
Join ACLU-DE staff on Tuesday, July 30 from 5 - 7 p.m. at the Courtyard Marriott in Newark to get involved in our campaign to expand voting rights in Delaware. All attendees will receive in-depth training on campaign tactics and learn more about opportunities to take action alongside other campaign volunteers and voting rights advocates committed to advancing democracy in our state.
Sign up for the EVC Campaign Training
Thursday, August 22 from 12:30 – 2:30 p.m. at the Lewes Public Library
Sign-Up Link to Come
Wednesday, August 28 from 7-9 p.m. at the Rt. 9 Library in Wilmington
Sign-Up Link to Come
Donate
The right to vote, and to have one’s vote accurately and fairly counted, is a fundamental right of all American citizens — and one that underpins the rest of our civil liberties.
At the ACLU of Delaware, we believe that all who wish to vote should be able to do so. That’s why we are pushing back against attacks on voting rights to bring our state into the 21st century, and ensure Delaware becomes a beacon of democracy and strong voter engagement.
This vital work depends on your support. We can't do it without you.
