Delaware is one of a handful of states with closed primaries, and Friday is the deadline for First State voters to choose or change party affiliation.
The Delaware Department of Elections says nearly a quarter of the state’s voters aren’t affiliated with either the Republican or Democratic parties. And since Delaware is one of just nine states with a closed primary, this means those voters would be shut out from voting in the September 13th primary.
About 25% of the state’s 716,000 voters are not affiliated with a party at all, and therefore would not be able to vote in the primary, according to Common Cause Delaware. Another 18,000 are affiliated with minor political parties that do not have primaries.
Spokeswoman Claire Synder-Hall says several are even choosing to unaffiliate themselves with any party.
“I know there has been a lot of, for example in the Republican party, folks who have been republicans maybe are unhappy with the direction of the party, so they choose to become independent," Snyder-Hall said. "I know on the left side there’s a lot of folks that are unhappy with the Democratic party and so they also don’t want to be affiliated.”
Common Cause spokesperson Claire Synder-Hall says that many people view their party affiliation as a personal statement, rather than a tactical choice.
“Where there is this big movement where one-third of the population is refusing to identify with a party, they don’t get to vote," Synder-Hall said. "I mean if we take a voter-centric view, that doesn’t make sense. You should let those people be able to vote in the primary, because a lot of times the primary election is the election.”
Voters have until 11:59 p.m. on Friday to register online at ivote.de.gov or can submit it by mail, as long as it is postmarked May 27, to be able to vote in the fall primary elections.
