Democrat, Republican, Common Cause leaders weigh in on court rejection of mail-in voting

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Delaware Senate leadership Thursday accused Republicans of attempting to limit voter turnout by pursuing a successful lawsuit that struck down mail-in voting. The ruling came down from Chancery Court and involved a law passed by the General Assembly, after GOP legislators rejected an attempt to amend the state Constitution.

GOP legislators voted to keep vote by mail out of the Constitution. Amendments require a two-thirds vote in two consecutive sessions.

By contrast, Republican state senators praised the decision but did not touch on the issue of why they did not vote for the Constitutional Amendment.

Common Cause Delaware Executive Director Claire Snyder-Hall did take issue with the chancellor’s ruling:

“While we are thrilled that Vice Chancellor Cook upheld same-day voter registration, we are deeply disappointed that he believes Vote by Mail is unconstitutional.

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When you read the Delaware Constitution, Article V section 1 clearly states that “the General Assembly has the authority to prescribe the means, methods and instruments of voting,” and that is exactly what they did when they passed the vote by mail bill last June.

It is vital to note that vote by mail is not the same as absentee voting. Article V section 4 says that voters who are “unable to appear” are entitled to vote by absentee ballot. But People who choose to vote by mail are not “unable to appear.” They just prefer to vote safely and securely from home.

We support vote by mail because it allows our neighbors to cast their ballots safely and securely from home, which is especially important for those working essential jobs, like our nurses and firefighters, and others who have work schedules that make it difficult to vote, when voting is just on one designated day.

Vote by mail strengthens democracy by making the ballot more accessible and increasing voter turnout.

Towards the end of the decision, the Vice Chancellor (Nathan) Cook concedes, “Although I am compelled by Delaware precedent to find that plaintiffs have demonstrated actual success on the merits as to the Vote-by-Mail Statute, I believe the Delaware Supreme Court may conclude that it has grounds to revisit that precedent.”

The following statement was issued by the Senate Democratic leaders:

“As a result of a Republican-led effort to make voting as inconvenient as possible, there now exists a very real possibility that Delawareans could be denied the right to vote by mail in November.

On Wednesday evening, the Court of Chancery handed down an 87-page opinion on two lawsuits that upheld same-day voter registration but blocked the state from implementing vote-by-mail for the November 8 election.

As the Department of Elections and Department of Justice now consider their legal options, it has never been clearer that only one party is fighting to expand ballot access for all voters.

Since 2019, only two Republican votes have been needed to expand absentee voting to all Delawareans – effectively granting them the same rights held by voters in 23 other states. But after two years of negotiations, those votes never materialized. Once the General Assembly passed Senate Bill 320 to instead provide a separate and distinct vote-by-mail option, the Republican Party sued the Department of Elections to prevent voters from accessing mail ballots.

While our hope is that the Department of Elections will ultimately prevail on appeal, the reality is voters can settle this matter on Election Day by electing more Democrats to the General Assembly and ensuring the GOP doesn’t have the votes it needs to block policies that are supported by 7 out of 10 Delawareans.

When you cast your ballot this November, ask yourself if you believe that open and accessible elections are vital for a functioning democracy. Because there is only one party fighting for the rights of every voter.”

The Senate Republican Caucus issued the following:

“Wednesday evening, Vice Chancellor Nathan Cook ruled Senate Bill 320 (SB 320), as amended, unconstitutional. The legislation, which was signed into law by Governor Carney on July 22, 2022, skirted around Delaware’s constitutional requirements for absentee voting and immediately established a vote-by-mail system.

“As Republican members of the Senate and House of Representatives correctly argued during committee hearings and floor debate, SB 320 blatantly disregarded Article V, Section 4A of the Delaware Constitution. Additionally, the Delaware Department of Elections acknowledged in a 2020 court case that general vote-by-mail was only permitted that year because of Governor Carney’s emergency declaration in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, Vice Chancellor Cook struck the statute down and vote-by-mail will not be permitted during the upcoming general election.

“We thank Vice Chancellor Cook and the Court of Chancery for the expedited process, and commend him for upholding the Delaware Constitution.”

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