§ 5501. Purpose of chapter; scope. It is the purpose and intent of the General Assembly in enacting this chapter to provide those qualified electors of this State who are unable to appear at an election to cast their ballots at the polling place of their election district with the ability to cast a ballot […]
§ 5502. Persons eligible to vote by absentee ballot. Any qualified elector, duly registered, of this State may cast the qualified elector’s vote by absentee ballot in any primary election, general election, special election for statewide or local offices and in any election held under the provisions of Chapter 73 of this title. Votes cast […]
§ 5503. Request for ballot; statements for absentee ballots; delivery of absentee ballots. (a) An elector desiring to vote by absentee ballot in an election for which the elector is a qualified elector may request an absentee ballot from the Department by filing a handwritten or electronically prepared statement with the Department no later than […]
§ 5504. Distribution of ballots, envelopes, and instructions; envelope specifications; pre-paid postage. (a) Upon receipt of a statement from an elector pursuant to § 5503 of this title, the Department shall process the same and confirm that the elector qualifies for an absentee ballot pursuant to § 5502 of this title. (b) Not more than […]
§ 5505. Requirements for ballot envelope; numbering and coding; voter identification label; statement of eligibility. (a) The Department shall provide to each elector to whom it sends an absentee ballot an envelope which shall be: (1) A color other than white; (2) Large enough to hold a completed ballot; and (3) Designed to protect its […]
§ 5506. Instructions for completing absentee ballots. The Attorney General shall prepare a list of instructions to assist an elector voting by absentee ballot in properly marking and returning the elector’s ballot pursuant to this chapter. These instructions shall be known and marked as “INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMPLETING AND RETURNING AN ABSENTEE BALLOT.” Before each election […]
§ 5507. Voting procedure; execution of statement; return of ballot. The procedure for completing an absentee ballot and returning it to the Department is as follows: (1) An elector who receives an absentee ballot pursuant to this chapter shall complete the ballot by marking it with the elector’s selections and shall place the completed ballot […]
§ 5508. Time limit for return of ballot; late ballots. (a) The Department shall endorse the date and time of receipt on the ballot envelope of each absentee ballot received thereby. (b) For an absentee ballot to be counted under this chapter, an elector voting by absentee ballot shall return the elector marked ballot to […]
§ 5509. Procedure on receipt of ballot envelope by Department. (a) Upon receipt of a ballot envelope the Department, or a person authorized by the Department, shall: (1) Ascertain the names of each elector as they appear on the face of each ballot envelope; (2) Ascertain from the information on the ballot envelope the election […]
§ 5510. Counting procedure for absentee ballots. At any time between the Friday before the day of the election and the closing of the polls on an election day, absentee election judges within each county, selected by the administrators of the Department in that county, shall count absentee ballots at the Department’s offices in the […]
§ 5510A. Preparing absentee ballots for tabulation. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter or regulations adopted by the Department, a Department of Elections may open absentee ballots in public meetings beginning the Friday before the day of the election in order to prepare them for tabulation. The Department shall notify each party on […]
§ 5511. Carrier envelope specifications; carrier envelopes as ballot boxes. (a) The Department shall purchase envelopes to be used as carrier envelopes, which shall be security mailing envelopes, designed to securely protect the contents thereof from tampering, removal, or substitution without detection and shall be large enough to accommodate multiple absentee ballots cast in the […]
§ 5512. Envelopes in general; approval by Attorney General. The Attorney General shall personally approve each kind or type of envelope for use pursuant to this chapter. The Department shall not purchase, use, have printed upon, mail or deliver any envelope for use pursuant to this chapter unless such type or kind of such envelope […]
§ 5513. Challenges. (a) The ballot of any elector choosing to vote by absentee ballot may be challenged for the same causes and in the same manner as provided in this title for other voters. (b) In addition, the vote of an absentee voter may be challenged: (1) On the ground that the statement filed […]
§ 5514. Rejected ballots. (a) No vote shall be accepted or counted if: (1) The statement of the absentee voter that appears on the front of the ballot envelope is found to have been altered or is not signed; or (2) The absentee voter is not a duly registered elector in this State; or (3) […]
§ 5515. Validity of absentee voter’s ballot for wrong district. If an absentee voter marks and returns an absentee ballot for an election district other than the 1 of which the absentee voter is a resident and a duly registered elector, such ballot, because thereof, shall not be adjudged invalid, but, as indicated by the […]
§ 5516. Procedure if requests or ballots sent to wrong official; absentee ballots received by election officers.44 Del. Laws, c. 118, § 24; 45 Del. Laws, Sp. Sess., c. 5,, § 4; 45 Del. Laws, c. 155, § 16; 15 Del. C. 1953, § 5520; 75 Del. Laws, c. 149, § 1; repealed by 79 […]
§ 5517. File of absentee voters. (a) The Department shall maintain records providing for the prevention of fraud and to make possible the tracing and detection of any attempt to do so. Such records shall include, but shall not be limited to, the following entries: (1) The name of elector; (2) The address at which […]
§ 5518. Members of the armed forces and certain other electors; 1 absentee request to cover all elections; federal post card application (FPCA); electronic transmission of balloting materials. (a) Any person who qualifies for an absentee ballot pursuant to § 5502(1), (2) or (7) of this title, and who has requested the same, shall qualify […]
§ 5520. Special write-in absentee ballot; procedures; qualifications. (a) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this title, an elector who qualifies under any of the reasons set forth in § 5502(1), (2) or (7) of this title may, during the calendar year in which an election is to be held for President, United States Senator or […]
