Currently, Delaware law permits absentee ballots only if people won’t be able to vote in person because they are participating in “public service” of the state or nation, working elsewhere, are on vacation, have an illness or physical disability, or have a religious reason.
Last year, Delaware made an exception and expanded mail-in voting as part of the state’s emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Delaware GOP sued, claiming mail-in ballots violated the state Constitution’s limits on absentee ballots.
That lawsuit was rejected by Delaware’s Chancery Court.
Republican House Minority Leader Danny Short said members of his caucus reexamined the amendment since that 2019 vote and came up with significant reservations about the bill.
“I believe they intend to turn no-excuse absentee voting into a ‘vote-by-mail’ system — a scheme that will benefit Democrats. Any doubt about the partisan nature of this issue was erased after today’s vote,” Short said. “We may not have seen the last of this bill, but House Democrats have given us even less reason to trust their good intentions on this issue.”