Purpose and Meaning of Election Laws

Del. Code tit. 15, ch. 1
in effect

Del. Code tit. 15, § 100 Democracy canon [Effective July 1, 2027].

In furtherance of the purpose of this chapter, this title, and the protections for equal elections and for protected classes in the Delaware Constitution, all statutes, rules, and regulations and political subdivision charters, laws, ordinances, and rules related to the elective franchise must be construed liberally in favor of protecting and making accessible the right of people to register to vote and have their ballot cast and counted. To the extent courts are afforded discretion on any issue, including, questions concerning discovery, procedure, admissibility of evidence, or remedies, it is the policy of this State that courts must exercise that discretion, and weigh other equitable discretion, in favor of all of the following factors: (1) Making the fundamental right to vote and ability to participate in the democratic process more accessible to eligible voters. (2) Safeguarding and vindicating, to the fullest extent possible, the voting rights of protected class members, including equitable access to opportunities to register to vote, cast a vote, and the equal opportunity to elect candidates of choice. (3) Ensuring protected class members have full access to relief from discrimination in voting.

Del. Code tit. 15, § 101 Definitions [Effective until July 1, 2027].

For purposes of this title: (1) “Adjudicate” means to determine how a person intended to vote on a ballot. (2) a. “Ballot” means the physical or electronic document that a voter uses to identify the candidates for whom the person is voting or how the person is voting on a ballot question in a referendum election. A “ballot” may be further classified as follows: 1. “Absentee ballot” means a ballot that allows a voter to vote in an election without voting in-person at a polling place. 2. “Primary ballot” means a ballot prepared for or used in a primary election. 3. “Provisional ballot” means a ballot used by an individual whose eligibility to vote in that election has not been determined at the time of voting. A “provisional ballot” indicates the votes cast by an individual if the individual’s eligibility to vote is confirmed. 4. “Rejected ballot” means a ballot that the Department determined is invalid or invalidly cast. 5. “Voided ballot” or “spoiled ballot” means a ballot that is declared void by the voter or the Department after the ballot was issued to a voter but before the ballot was cast. 6. “Voted ballot” means a ballot that has been cast. b. When used with a “ballot” , the following verbs mean as follows: 1. “Cast” means to submit a ballot to the Department in an election with the intent that the votes indicated on the ballot be counted when the results of the election are tabulated. “Cast a vote” means to “cast a ballot.” 2. “Cure” means that a voter corrects an error or omission on a ballot that if not corrected, would result in a rejected ballot. (3) “Ballot question” means a proposal or other question submitted to voters at a referendum election. (4) “Ballot stock” means a physical object intended for use as a ballot but on which the ballot has not yet been printed. (5) “Board of Elections” or “Board” means that body of individuals appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate to serve or who otherwise serve as the State Board of Elections in accordance with Chapter 2 of this title, and are, as such, vested with the responsibility and power to see to the administration of the election laws of this State as more particularly defined in this title. (6) “Candidate” means an individual seeking public office. (7) “Clerk” means clerk of election. (8) “Commissioner” means the individual appointed as the State Election Commissioner under Chapter 3 of this title. (9) “County committee” means the regularly organized and constituted county committee or governing authority of a political party. (10) “Department” means the State Department of Elections, including the Commissioner, county directors, county deputy Directors, and Department employees. “Department” does not include the Board of Elections. (11) “Election” means an organized contest to select an individual to hold a specific office or to make a collective choice with respect to a specified question. “Election” may be further classified as follows: a. “General election” means an election of final determination with respect to 1or more offices. b. “Municipal election” means an election conducted under a municipal charter or under Chapter 75 of this title. c. “Primary election” means an election at which voters affiliated with a major political party may vote to determine the nominees of that political party for offices at a general election. When used as a noun, “primary” means “primary election.” d. “Primary or general election” means a primary election or a general election. e. “Referendum election” means an election that asks voters to indicate a choice of for or against, in response to 1 or more ballot questions, including questions about tax levies, issuing bonds, or annexation. A “referendum election” does not include the selection of a candidate for office. f. “Scheduled election” means an election that is conducted at a regular interval on a day specified under law. g. “School district election” means an election conducted under Title 14. A “school district election” may be a scheduled election to select individuals to serve on the board of a school district or a referendum election. h. “Special election” means an election to fill a vacancy that is conducted under a writ of election. (12) “Election District Record” shall no longer mean the binders which contain, among other information, voter registration record (sometimes referred to as “Blues”), and shall hereafter mean the electronic records or the print out reflecting said electronic records as designated by the Department of Elections. (13) “Election management system” means the computer software programs, computer modules, and databases used and managed by the Department to administer elections under this title. (14) “Election officers” means the inspector of election, the 2 judges of election and the clerks of election who are appointed for each election district under § 4702 of this title. (15) “General election year” means a year in which a general election must be held under § 1 of Article V of the Delaware Constitution. (16) “Independent,” “decline” or words equivalent thereto means any person who at the time of registration does not choose to be affiliated with a political party as defined in this section. (17) “Inspector” means inspector of elections. (18) “Judge” means judge of elections. (19) “Local office” means any political district smaller than the State, including municipal, county, state representative or state senatorial. (20) “Mobile registration” means any voter registration sponsored or conducted by the Department of Elections outside of any office of the Department. (21) “Party” or “political party” means any political organization which elects a state committee and officers of a state committee, by a state convention composed of delegates elected from each representative district in which the party has registered members, and which nominates candidates for electors of President and Vice-President, or nominates candidates for offices to be decided at the general election. All political parties shall be divided into 2 classes: a. “Major political party” means any political party which, as of December 31 of the year immediately preceding any general election year, has registered in the name of that party voters equal to at least 5 percent of the total number of voters registered in the State. b. “Minor political party” means any political party which does not qualify as a major political party. (22) “Principal political parties” or words equivalent thereto will be the 2 political parties which have the highest total voter registration in this State. (23) “Protective counter” means a separate counter built into the voting machine, which cannot be reset, which records the total number of movements of the operating lever. (24) “Registered voter” means an individual on the Department’s voter registration list. (25) “Registration list” or “voter registration list” means the list of individuals registered with the Department to vote. The “registration list” is prepared by the Department from the voter registration records maintained in the election management system. (26) “Registration officers” means the registrar, assistant registrar and alternate registrars appointed by the Department as defined in this section. (27) “Registration record” or “voter registration record” means the information about an individual collected by the Department and maintained in the election management system, including all of the following: a. Information collected through the individual’s voter registration application. b. Information collected after the individual’s initial voter registration application. c. If the individual has qualified to permanently vote on an absentee basis. d. A record of each election in which the individual has voted. (28) “Reports Appeals Subcommittee” or “Subcommittee” means the Reports Appeals Subcommittee of the State Board of Elections. (29) “Signature” means both a written signature conforming to § 302(23) of Title 1 and a digital or electronic signature that is an electronic sound, symbol or process attached to or logically associated with a document and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the document as specified by the State Election Commissioner. (30) “State chair” means the highest executive officer of a political party of this State. (31) “State committee” means the regularly organized and constituted statewide governing authority of a political party in this State. (32) “Tabulation” means to count votes and includes all of the following: a. Counting all ballots or votes. b. Recording the numbers of votes cast by ballots. c. Confirming the count of ballots or votes. (33) “Unaffiliated candidate” means any individual who files a declaration as a candidate for any office to be decided at the general election and who is not affiliated with any political party and has not been thus affiliated for at least 3 months prior to the filing of that individual’s declaration. (34) “Voting device” means equipment that allows a voter to cast a ballot and records that vote. (35) “Voting equipment” means equipment, including hardware, firmware, software, machines, and voting devices, that performs 1 or more of the following functions: a. Allows a voter to cast a vote. b. Tabulates votes. c. Provides a definitive voter registration list to a poll worker.

Del. Code tit. 15, § 101A Purpose [Effective until July 1, 2027].

The purpose of this title is to assure the people’s right to free and equal elections, as guaranteed by our state Constitution. To that end, the full exercise of that right demands that the people be afforded the means to form political parties, nominate candidates and cast ballots for whomever they choose. At the same time, however, lengthy ballots which list a profusion of political parties and unaffiliated candidates, many of which are not serious contenders and lack even a modicum of community support, tend to create voter confusion and to clog the election machinery. To secure the right to free and equal elections and to preserve the integrity of the democratic political process, it is essential that an orderly system be established: (1) For the registration of voters and the preservation of voter registration records; (2) To encourage public participation in political parties and to demonstrate sufficient community support of these parties by permitting voters to affiliate with the party of their choice, if they so desire, on their voter registration records; (3) To provide a means by which political parties and unaffiliated candidates, which have demonstrated a meaningful level of community support, may qualify for listing on the general election ballot; (4) For the orderly and fair selection of party nominees by primary election or political party convention, and for the filling of vacancies among such nominees; (5) To provide for the free exercise of the write-in vote for both politically affiliated and unaffiliated candidates who may not qualify for listing on the general election ballot; (6) For the conduct of primary and general elections; (7) For the certification of election results and the resolution of election contests; (8) To provide criminal penalties and civil liability for violation of the laws set forth in this title; (9) To provide for all such other matters, related to the electoral process, as may be set forth herein.

Del. Code tit. 15, § 102 Deadline interpretation in this title.

Except for deadlines that are specifically set on a Saturday, Sunday or a holiday, all deadlines in this title that fall on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday shall be the next official business day at 4:30 p.m.

Del. Code tit. 15, § 103 Residence.

(a) (1) For purposes of this title or a school district election, an individual’s place of residence is the place in which that individual’s habitation is fixed, and to which that individual has an articulable and reasonable intention of returning whenever the individual is absent. (2) A location can only be an individual’s place of residence if the individual physically inhabits the location with the intention to remain at that place of residence indefinitely or for a fixed period of time. An individual cannot gain residency at a location that the individual has not actually, physically inhabited, regardless of whether the individual owns the real property at the location or intends to inhabit the location indefinitely in the future. (3) If an individual maintains possession of the individual’s place of residence, obtaining a secondary residence is not prima facie evidence of a change of residence. (b) Residence must be broadly construed to provide all eligible voters with the opportunity to participate in the democratic process. If an individual’s residence is not a traditional residence associated with real property, the individual’s place of residence is the individual’s usual sleeping area or place of habitation. (1) If an election district boundary crosses an individual’s place of habitation, the individual is a resident of the election district that contains a majority of the area in that place of habitation. An accurate and current satellite map or other similar presentation of an individual’s place of habitation and the election district boundary line is prima facie evidence of the geographic location of an individual’s place of habitation. (2) a. If there are multiple places of habitation to which an individual has the intention of returning, the individual’s residence is the place of habitation where the individual resides most often. b. The address on an individual’s driver’s license or state identification card is prima facia evidence of the place of habitation where the individual resides most often. (c) If an individual maintains a reasonable and articulable intent to return to the individual’s community, an individual does not lose their place of residence or become a resident at new location, solely on the basis that the individual relocates for any of the following reasons: (1) Attending a residential educational program, including postsecondary education and job training. (2) Military service or other government employment. (3) Incarceration. (4) AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, or similar service organizations. (5) Obtaining or providing medical care. (d) Notwithstanding subsection (c) of this section and regardless of whether the individual maintains an intention to return to their original community in the future, an individual’s place of residence changes and the individual establishes a new place of residence if the individual takes any of the following actions: (1) Inhabits a new location with the intention of remaining at the new location indefinitely. (2) Registers to vote based upon residence at a new location. (3) Votes based upon residence at a new location. (e) (1) a. If an individual disputes the determination of the individual’s place of residence for purposes of registering to vote or voting, the individual may submit a written appeal of that determination to the Commissioner. The Commissioner may request documentation or other evidence in connection with this appeal. b. The Commissioner shall promptly provide a written opinion on the individual’s place of residence and the Commissioner’s written opinion is the final determination of the individual’s place of residence for purposes of that dispute. (2) A dispute regarding candidate residency requirements is resolved under § 3114 of this title.
Source: DE Code (Official Site)URL: https://delcode.delaware.gov/title15/c001/index.htmlFetched: 10/4/2026