Delaware Supreme Court finds vote by mail, same-day registration unconstitutional | Meredith Newman and Xerxes Wilson/Delaware News Journal
The Delaware Supreme Court on Friday struck down recent vote-by-mail and same-day voter registration legislation, overturning a signature achievement by Gov. John Carney and Democrat lawmakers. The court’s decision comes a month ahead of the Nov. 8 general election and while the Department of Elections was preparing to send mail ballots to voters on Oct. 10. The ruling means this will not happen and Delaware will return to its more limited, pre-pandemic voting setup where one must vote in person or have an excuse to vote absentee and one must register weeks in advance of an election to cast a ballot. Delawareans must now register to vote by Oct. 15. Debate over the legitimacy of the voting changes, enacted by lawmakers this past summer, centered on whether the state’s constitution would allow all registered voters to cast their ballot through the mail as well as whether allowing people to register to vote all the way up to Election Day is allowed by the provisions of that document. The court heard arguments on the issue Thursday. Friday’s ruling was only three pages long, and the justices wrote that a more thorough opinion explaining their logic will be issued soon.
Full Article: Delaware vote-by-mail ruled unconstitutional by state Supreme Court