Delaware General Assembly

Out of Committee 5/17/23

Legislation has been voted out of Committee; now placed on the Ready List

3/9/23

Brown

Sen. Hansen, Sturgeon
Reps. S. Moore, Baumbach, Dorsey Walker, Minor-Brown, Bush

Sen. Gay, Hoffner, Huxtable, Lockman, Mantzavinos, Paradee, Pinkney, Sokola, Townsend, Walsh
Reps. Bolden, Harris, Heffernan, Morrison, Romer, K. Williams

AN ACT PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE V OF THE DELAWARE CONSTITUTION RELATING TO VOTING.

This Act is the first leg of a constitutional amendment to eliminate the limitations on when an individual may vote absentee and authorizes the General Assembly to enact general laws providing the circumstances, rules, and procedures for absentee voting in this State. This Act is in response to the Supreme Court’s decision in Albence v. Higgins, 2022 Del. LEXIS 377 (Del. 2022). This Act requires all absentee ballots to include an oath or affirmation that the qualified voter’s vote is free from improper influence. This oath or affirmation is in lieu of the oath or affirmation required under Section 3 of Article V of the Delaware Constitution. Amending the Delaware Constitution requires not only the passing of the changes in this Act, but also passage of the same changes after the next general election by the next General Assembly. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article XVI of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to amend the Delaware Constitution.

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A First Leg amendment must be approved by the next General Assembly to become part of the Constitution. A Second Leg amendment becomes part of the Constitution upon passage of both Chambers of the subsequent General Assembly.

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