Delaware’s highest court upholds permanent absentee voting in the First State.
The Delaware Supreme Court affirmed a Court of Chancery decision earlier this month that rejected a constitutional challenge to the practice.
Republican State Sen. Gerald Hocker and Independent Party of Delaware candidate Steven Washington challenged the law allowing Delaware’s Department of Elections to send absentee ballots automatically to those with permanent absentee status.
They argued current law could give those voters automatic absentee privileges in future elections even if their original reason no longer applies. Groups eligible for permanent status include Delawareans in the military and residents with disabilities.
But Chief Justice Collins J. Seitz, Jr., writing for the court agreed, with the Court of Chancery’s decision that the state’s absentee voting rules are not an unconstitutional expansion of voting.
He notes Delaware law requires absentee voters to notify the state of any changes that would affect their eligibility. And it asks absentee voters to assert their status under oath on the mail-in ballot.
Seitz’s decision on the appeal was expedited, as it will apply to November’s midterms.
