The right to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy and this year, 518,329 Delawareans exercised that fundamental right during Delaware’s General Election. While Donald Trump’s re-election brings challenges for the future of voting rights and may feel like a setback, the Every Vote Counts campaign is forging ahead with conviction.
When we launched this campaign, we knew one thing for certain: we are in this for the long haul. Making Delaware a beacon of democracy and voter engagement is a multi-year effort, and our work will always continue beyond any single election cycle. So, the fight for democracy remains as critical ever. Our commitment to protecting and expanding the right to vote for all Delawareans remains steadfast.
As we look ahead to 2025, the lessons we can take from this election season provide a powerful foundation for our campaign's priorities: 1) ending felony disenfranchisement, 2) expanding and protecting early in-person voting and no-excuse absentee voting, and 3) implementing same-day registration.
Here’s what we learned:
Ending Felony Disenfranchisement
Throughout this election season, approximately 6,214 people in Delaware were legally unable to participate in the democratic process due to felony disenfranchisement — even though almost 60% of these people are no longer incarcerated. Additionally, because of the confusing and complicated nature of Delaware’s felony disenfranchisement laws, many potentially eligible voters were disenfranchised due to technicalities like missing the voter registration deadline. Therefore, while over 6,000 Delawareans were directly prevented from voting by Delaware’s felony disenfranchisement provisions, the total number of people indirectly disenfranchised is likely much higher.
On Election Day, election protection volunteers received numerous calls from impacted residents wanting to know if they were eligible to vote while on probation or parole. These calls reflected a strong desire among disenfranchised individuals to make their voices heard, underscoring the urgent need for reform.
However, Delaware did take some positive steps for voting rights for those impacted by the criminal legal system. State election officials visited correctional facilities to facilitate “in-facility absentee voting” opportunities whereby eligible incarcerated voters were able to cast their ballots in-person – a significant step from the 2020 election season during which no eligible incarcerated voters were able to vote. Thanks to pressure from both our campaign members and other voting rights advocates, 311 eligible incarcerated voters cast a ballot this year – 307 people voted through in-person absentee and 4 voted through standard vote by mail.
Protecting Early In-Person Voting and Expanding No-Excuse Absentee Voting
In Delaware, 209,517 people, 26.5% of all registered voters in the state, cast their ballots during the 10-day early voting period and an additional 37,656 voted by absentee ballot*. While turnout is a testament to Delawareans' strong support for accessible voting options in Delaware, yet many still faced barriers.
Early voters across the state faced long lines at the polls and limited designated early voting polling location options. Kent County voters were restricted to just four early voting locations. The Disabilities Law Program (DLP) received anecdotal reports via calls and emails about accessibility concerns during early voting, such as long lines and the need for chairs or other accommodations. In such instances, when DLP reported the occurrences to the Delaware Department of Elections (DOE), the DOE was responsive to requests to take steps such as adding chairs or moving voters to the head of the line. Those who did not meet Delaware’s criteria to qualify as an absentee voter, and yet still faced obstacles due to work, childcare, or other barriers, were left without a way to cast their ballots safely from home.
The Delaware Supreme Court’s decision to restore early in-person and permanent absentee voting protections was a major victory that allowed thousands of Delawareans to exercise their right to vote in this year’s critical election cycle. However, these laws remain vulnerable to future legal challenges. With more voters than ever relying on these ways to vote, protecting and expanding these options is essential.
Additionally, early voting proved invaluable to allowing the department to catch and fix a glitch in the voter registration system during our state primary election, demonstrating the value of early voting to our election officials. Further, expanding absentee voting can reduce lines at early voting and general election polling places, making voting easier for everyone. Looking ahead, our campaign is committed to pushing to extend the early voting period, working with election officials to identify additional early voting locations that meet accessibility standards, and advocating to remove Delaware’s restrictive absentee criteria.
Implementing Same-Day Registration
Delaware’s restrictive voter registration deadlines were a serious impediment to casting a ballot this election. Calls received during the election protection volunteering effort demonstrated the impact of the deadline not only on formerly incarcerated people, but also young people, people who had recently moved, and other people who simply had other things come up in their lives that got in the way of registering to vote.
While automatic voter registration was a great step forward for voter registration in our state, we know that we cannot stop there, and we will be advocating for same-day voter registration as the Center for American Progress has estimated that adding this reform can lead to over 22,000 additional voters.
Every election presents an opportunity to further the fight for voting rights on state and local levels. This election season, with the help of Every Vote Counts volunteer efforts, we saw wins for candidates committed to championing voting rights reforms in Representative Districts 20 and 21. Our campaign will continue to ensure Delawareans have the information they need to cast their ballots for pro-democracy candidates in elections to come.
When faced with new challenges ahead, we must never forget that all change begins in our communities.
To learn more about the Every Vote Counts campaign and ways to get involved, visit aclu-de.org/EVC.
*The Delaware Department of Elections is still counting absentee ballots as of November 7.
