Several bills pending before the Delaware General Assembly will facilitate our voting rights, a constitutional guarantee and privilege and a veritable cornerstone of democracy. A key bill is House Bill 75, which would amend Delaware’s Constitution to remove limitations on absentee voting and thus permit future state legislation that will provide “no-excuse absentee voting” in national, as well as state and local, elections.
No-excuse absentee voting offers well-known advantages, such as facilitating voting by senior citizens and those whose work schedules impede visiting the polls. No-excuse absentee voting not only encourages voter turnout but also spurs more expansive citizen involvement in choosing our elected officials.
To amend Delaware’s Constitution, the General Assembly’s House and Senate must vote in the affirmative by a two-thirds majority in two successive General Assembly sessions.
It is significant that during the previous legislative session, this proposed amendment passed with bipartisan support. Today, we need that same bipartisan support in the second consecutive legislative session. It is vital that our elected officials recognize and affirm the need to facilitate voting rights, so all our citizens can participate more easily in the democratic process.
Also, it is vital that Delaware community leaders, good-government civic organizations and employers — big and small, as well as publicly traded and private companies — support the right to vote and encourage passage of HB 75.
May the First State be as bold now in passing HB 75 to help ensure the ability of our citizens to vote as it was in 1787 when it was first to ratify the Constitution of the United States at the outset of our founding as a nation of laws that secure our rights, including the right to vote.
Nick Wasileski, Delaware Coalition for Open Government (DelCOG) president
Keith Steck, DelCOG vice president
Katherine Ward, DelCOG Advisory Board
