Delaware Election Commissioner Anthony Albence

PHOTO COURTESY OF delaware.gov

By Joseph Edelen

DOVER — The Delaware Supreme Court is expected to issue a decision on the state’s challenges to stricken early and absentee voting laws by June 30, Election Commissioner Anthony Albence told the Board of Elections Monday.

Oral arguments in the case were heard in the state Supreme Court on Wednesday following a granted motion to an expedited decision after Delaware Superior Court ruled the policies unconstitutional Feb. 23.

“(Delaware Supreme Court) intends to follow that timeframe, so we are expecting to get a… decision by the end of the month, and that will guide how we correspond with voters and how we provide information to voters in the voting public,” Mr. Albence said.

The election commissioner provided updates on several other aspects of voting while the state and plaintiffs in the suit await answers from the high court regarding these policies ahead of the Sept. 10 primary and Nov. 5 general elections.

Of those updates, voting registration totals are growing incrementally each month, he said, and as of June, the total sits at 775,973 Delaware voters.

The registration deadline for the primary election is Aug. 17, and Oct. 12 for the general, though the deadline to change party affiliation passed on May 24.

According to Department of Elections statistics, 27,567 voters changed their party affiliation in 2024 prior to the deadline. In 2023, a total of 21,829 Delawareans changed their party affiliation.

Mr. Albence noted that the candidate filing deadline is July 9, with a withdrawal date of July 12. For military and overseas citizen voters, the registration deadline is Aug. 26, he added.

The election commissioner also spoke about the June 6 Smyrna School District referendum - which passed on the second try - as well as Cape Henlopen School District’s May 21 referendum, which was defeated for the second time since March.

“By state law, two attempts to school referenda elections may be held within a 12-month period,” Mr. Albence said. “So, if the Cape Henlopen Board of Education wishes to move forward with another referendum, they would need to wait until after March 26, (2025)… until they're in a new 12-month period.”

Cape Henlopen’s second referendum of the calendar year was defeated by about a 425-vote margin, while Smyrna’s second referendum narrowly passed by a 22-vote margin.

According to department statistics, approximately 8,750 voters participated in Cape’s referendum, compared to about 2,160 in Smyrna’s.

“(It was a) very good day, very smooth, no issues. Results reported very quickly, as was the case with Cape Henlopen,” Mr. Albence said. “Just the polling places, added reconfiguration of one of the busiest polling places in (Cape Henlopen) high school really eliminated any lines. A very smooth operation, very heavy turnout in that Sussex… referendum.”

Mr. Albence also provided updates regarding campaign finance reporting system improvements, efforts to increase accessibility at polling places throughout the state, department outreach efforts and outstanding voting legislation during Monday’s Board of Elections meeting.

The Board of Elections will hold their next meeting July 8 at 4 p.m.

Department of Elections