In his second decision on voting by mail, Delaware Vice Chancellor Sam Glasscock ruled that ballots received after the polls close cannot be counted, even if the ballot was postmarked on the day of the election.
The League of Women Voters and a voter asked Chancery Court to overturn the late ballot provision.
Lawyers cited the possibility of Postal Service delays, due to service changes. Glasscock noted that Federal have ordered the Postal Service to not do anything to impede the mailing of ballots.
Glasscock said the General Assembly was clear in its intent to not allowing late counting of ballots.
Earlier, Glasscock rejected a claim by the Delaware Republican Party that vote by mail was unconstitutional.
Republicans argued that under the state constitution ballots must be requested by voters. Under vote by mail, all registered voters receive ballots. The Covid-19 pandemic was cited as the reason for the legislation.
Vote by mail has been routinely used in a number of states.
