DOVER — Delaware voters may not have to visit the ballot box to cast their votes after new legislation was introduced in the Senate on Friday.

Senate Bill 320, sponsored by Sen. Kyle Evans Gay, D-Talleyville, would allow Delawareans to vote by mail in primary, general or special elections. The bill would appoint the Delaware Department of Elections to provide an application for a mail-in ballot prior to these elections.

The legislation has received the support of numerous lawmakers, including Senate Majority Leader Bryan Townsend, D-Newark, Senate Majority Whip Elizabeth “Tizzy” Lockman, D-Newark, Senate President Pro-Tempore Dave Sokola, D-Newark, and House Majority Leader Valerie Longhurst, D-Bear, all of which are additional sponsors of the bill.

SB 320, if enacted, would prompt voters to complete an online or paper application to receive a mail-in ballot. Once the application is completed, voters would receive the ballot, instructions on how to cast their vote, and a postage-paid envelope prior to the subsequent election. When voters finish completing their ballot, they can return them by mail, in a secure dropbox, or mailed directly to any Delaware Department of Elections office.

Should voters be given the opportunity to vote by mail, the state election commissioner would be responsible for appointing a bipartisan team to open ballots, checking them for voter eligibility and counting them by district.

The Delaware Department of Elections would set criteria on these ballots, rejecting those who failed to register by the proper deadline, or if the ballot is opened or tampered with. Additionally, if a voter did not request the ballot or if the ballot is not signed, it can be challenged by the department.

“A democratic government that truly works for the people should do everything in its power to make voting accessible,” Sen. Gay said in a House press release. “Working families, seniors and Delawareans concerned for their health want and deserve a vote-by-mail option,

“Voting is the most fundamental democratic exercise, and Delaware proved in 2020 that mail balloting is safe, secure, feasible and an effective avenue to expand voter participation, as evidenced by the record turnout in the last election. It’s time we made vote-by-mail an ongoing option in our state.”

The introduction of SB 320 comes during lawmakers’ continued push to expand voting access. On Tuesday, the House passed House Substitute 1 for HB 25, sponsored by Rep. Sherry Dorsey Walker, D-Wilmington, which would allow same-day voter registration.

The implementation of mail-in voting, however, is not a procedure with which Delawareans are unfamiliar. During the pandemic, lawmakers passed legislation that would temporarily allow absentee ballot voting for the 2020 primary and general elections. As a result of this alternative voting method, more than 76,000 Delawareans casted votes via an absentee ballot in the 2020 state primary election, while more than 160,000 did in the general election that same year.

An amendment to the Delaware Constitution to permanently allow absentee ballot voting passed in 2020, though it required the support from two consecutive General Assemblies. Ultimately, the amendment did not receive enough support to be enacted into the Delaware Constitution as a number of lawmakers rescinded their support for the legislation.

SB 320’s lead sponsor in the House, Rep. Krista Griffith, D-Fairfax, said the current legislation is necessary to democracy.

“People have voted by mail safely since the Civil War, when soldiers cast their ballots from the battlefield and mailed them to their home states. Since the 1980s, more and more states have passed laws allowing their residents to vote by mail for any reason, and these methods have been implemented successfully,” Rep. Griffith said in a House press release.

“Democracy functions best when everyone has the opportunity to participate in it. But today’s world is hectic, between work, family obligations, illness or unexpected emergencies. Allowing all residents the option to vote by mail will provide them with a safe, convenient way to have their voice heard.”

SB 320 has been assigned to the Senate Elections & Government Affairs committee for consideration. Should the bill pass the committee, it will receive a hearing from the entire Senate chamber.