The following commentary on the Delaware Supreme Court's voting rights ruling is from our Executive Director, Mike Brickner.
In the wake of the Delaware Supreme Court’s gut-wrenching decision to declare vote by mail and same day voter registration unconstitutional, voters will suffer the consequences with fewer options to cast their ballot freely and fairly. If any issue ought to be non-partisan and uncontroversial in the state legislature, it should be ensuring every eligible voter is able to participate in our democracy, yet reform has been elusive. With the general election approaching, Delaware voters must seek out candidates’ positions on core democracy reforms and hold them accountable for their support or opposition.
It is remarkably difficult to amend the Delaware state constitution, with any amendment needing to pass with a two-thirds majority in consecutive legislative terms. However, legislators seemed poised to do just that prior to the 2020 election, as a constitutional amendment to expand absentee voting passed the legislature with broad bipartisan support. Yet when the same amendment came forward for the second leg of the process in the 2021-2022 session, support fell along party lines, meaning the amendment failed to garner enough support in the House.
The deleterious impact of the attacks on democracy at the national level have left lawmakers divided on something that should unite us: guaranteeing the vote for every American.
Given the lengthy process to pass a constitutional amendment in Delaware, it is now logistically impossible for vote by mail and same day registration to be in place in time for the 2024 election, where Delawareans will be selecting who they want for president, governor, and various legislative offices.
Unfortunately, it will be the voters who now will suffer. The Supreme Court’s decision will impact the general election, and reverberate long after. With the voter registration deadline now looming, and some voters’ vote by mail requests already sent in to the Department of Elections, there is likely to be some level of confusion in the upcoming general election. Voters who have become used to casting their ballot by mail since 2020 may be surprised that this option is no longer available to them. And voters who struggle to update their registration or register for the first time before the arbitrary deadline will no longer have same day registration as an option, which will disproportionately impact low-income voters, students, and people who move frequently.
Given the lengthy process to pass a constitutional amendment in Delaware, it is now logistically impossible for vote by mail and same day registration to be in place in time for the 2024 election, where Delawareans will be selecting who they want for president, governor, and various legislative offices.
2022 was supposed to be the year Delaware’s election system became one of the more accessible in the nation, but now we lag behind many other states. 35 states plus the District of Columbia allow any voter to cast a ballot by mail without an excuse. 22 states plus the District of Columbia allow same day voter registration, but now Delaware remains one of the states with one of the earliest registration requirements allowed by federal law — every voter must register by October 15, 2022, for this year’s General Election.
In addition, Delaware is one of 16 states that disenfranchises people who are on probation or parole, even though they are living in our communities. And some people in Delaware are permanently disenfranchised if convicted of certain crimes.
As in many other states, these felony disenfranchisement laws have a basis in historic attempts to keep Black voters from participating in our democracy, given the severe racial disparities in our criminal legal system.
It is long past time the Delaware constitution sheds these restrictions that make it harder for all people to have their voices heard at the ballot box. Voter restrictions hurt everyone–no matter your political party or which candidate you decide to support. For every candidate seeking to earn the support of voters in November, they must answer whether they will support constitutional amendments to lift these antiquated and harmful restrictions, and if they oppose or will not commit to supporting them, voters should act accordingly when casting their ballot.
