Good afternoon,
Voters stood in a short line to cast their absentee ballots at the Delaware Department of Elections office on Lisa Drive south of New Castle. All were wearing masks as we joined a steady stream of voters who dropped off ballots in the metal drop box monitored by surveillance cameras.
Delaware is embracing early voting with about 27 percent of ballots from registered voters already cast, according to the TargetSmart website.
We were part of a group that decided to make the short drive to Lisa Drive and later celebrated with a dashboard dinner of hot dogs and fries from the legendary Dog House to the north in the Minquadale-Wilmington Manor area.
By all accounts, the U.S. Postal Service and its nearby Hares Corner hub are processing mail-in ballots in a timely manner, after earlier warnings. That may not be the case with our Pennsylvania readers.
With a week to go until the election, a voting analyst from a nonpartisan group quoted in the Washington Post indicated that it’s too late to mail your ballot, especially in battlegrounds.
The presidential campaign of former Delaware U.S. Sen. and VP Joe Biden is now advising voters to vote in person or drop off ballots. The Trump campaign earlier urged mail-in voting despite lawsuits filed in Delaware and other states.
Have you already voted? Check the status of your ballot here.
You might also remember the dust-up over the removal of sorting equipment at Hares Corner and their apparent re-installation after spending some time on a loading dock.
Another local concern comes from scattered reports of thefts from mailboxes in the Newark area. Thieves have been cleaning out mailboxes, not for ballots, but in search of checks to be cashed.
It will seem strange to not set foot in our long-time voting place on Tuesday, but vote by mail is a simple process, and despite statements to the contrary will not lead to widespread voter fraud.
Granted, hanky panky is possible, but the chances of getting caught are great and can lead to prison time.
Delaware also has an election system that has performed well over the years. Delaware will not count votes early, nor will it accept ballots that come in after the polls close. It means we may not see the superfast tallies of recent years but should have most returns reported by midnight.
The current system is a temporary creature of the pandemic. When the Delaware General Assembly convenes next year, moving mail-in voting to permanent status deserves to be a priority. – Doug and Sharon Rainey
