The Department of Elections says it resolved a clerical error that initially restricted the voting capabilities of residents who were automatically registered.
Delaware implemented Automatic Voter Registration (AVR) last summer, meaning qualified individuals 18 years or older are automatically registered to vote in Delaware when they receive a driver’s license or state ID from the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).
They are initially registered under “No Party-AVR" and then given the chance to declare a party or unregister in a subsequent letter.
AVR voters who are still "No Party-AVR" are allowed to declare a party at the polls if they haven’t already, enabling them to vote in the state’s closed primary. All Delaware voters are currently unable to switch their party affiliation.
But the Department of Elections was recently made aware of a human clerical error that affected 764 AVR voters.
While the department did not clarify the exact error, they say it involved a mistake with the manual entry of the party affiliation of AVR voters — a process that has now been automated.
“We provided the early voting sites with a list of the impacted voters that they could reference, and if there was any question, they could follow the usual process to have that individual select a party and vote," said Election’s Commissioner Anthony Albence
Albence says the New Castle County office received a handful of calls on this issue, but no voter was turned away or not permitted to vote.
Those impacted included 328 voters in New Castle County, 200 in Kent County and 236 in Sussex County, but Albence said the poll books have since been updated ahead of Tuesday's primary election.
In a letter from Delaware Coalition for Open Government to New Castle County Department of elections Director Tracy Dixon, spokesperson John Flaherty wrote:
"It has been brought to our attention that two young women who registered as Democrats in April /2024 and went to vote last week during the early voting for the September 10 primary were not allowed to vote.
It appears that the New Castle County Department of Elections said they were registered as other, not Democrat, and therefore not eligible to vote in the upcoming primary.
It is my understanding that the two voters visited the New Castle County Department of Elections Office with proof that the two had registered previously as Democrat.
In the ensuing discussion between the two voters and the New Castle County Elections Department, it appeared that the Elections Department indicated that the error was caused by a so called glitch in the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) motor voter registration system.
The two young women had their voter registration cards updated and were then allowed to vote."
A resident registered as "Other" is different than "No Party-AVR." "Other" could mean that voter is registered with the Independent Party of Delaware, Working Families Party, etc.
Only the Democratic Party and Republican Party are holding statewide primary elections this year in Delaware, meaning only those registered with those two parties are eligible to vote on Sept. 10.
You can figure out your registration status, as well as your party affiliation on the State of Delaware voter portal.
