FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | October 7, 2022
Contact: Scott Goss (302) 744-4180
Delaware Senate President Pro Tempore Dave Sokola, Senate Majority Leader Bryan Townsend, and Senate Majority Whip Elizabeth Lockman issued the following statement regarding the Delaware Supreme Court’s ruling on Senate Bill 320 and House Substitute 1 for House Bill 25:
“While we are deeply disappointed that mail-in voting and Election Day registration will not be options available to Delawareans this election cycle, we thank the Supreme Court for expediting its decision to bring clarity to voters as the General Election approaches next month.
This ruling, which undoes statues passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Governor John Carney, will effectively make voting harder and less convenient for working people in the First State, whom we believe should enjoy the same rights held by voters in dozens of other states across the country.
Our efforts to provide a safe, secure, and legal vote-by-mail option through a Constitutional amendment were stymied by Republican legislators who switched their votes once Donald Trump began spreading the Big Lie. Republican legislators also voted to retain an arbitrary and antiquated Saturday deadline for voter registration.
We commend Sen. Kyle Evans Gay, Rep. Sherry Dorsey Walker, and Rep. David Bentz for pursuing every possible path forward on vote by mail and same-day registration, and we are committed in 2023 to continuing to answer the call of our constituents to promote and protect democracy by increasing ballot access.
Today’s ruling makes clear that amending our State Constitution is the only path forward for implementing these policies, which are supported by 70 percent of Delawareans. And so, it appears our constituents can only secure the open and accessible elections they demand by electing more Democrats to the General Assembly in November.”
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