DELAWARE- The Department of Justice plans to appeal a Superior Court judge's ruling on voting rights.
Previously, Delawareans who requested absentee ballots could receive them without request for future elections.
Senate minority whip Brian Pettyjohn (R-Georgetown) said Superior Court Judge Mark Conner ruled against that based on his interpretation of the constitution.
"There is a certain list of reasons why a person can be absentee and nowhere in that provision in the constitution does it say that those are permanent conditions," Pettyjohn explained.
It was the same decision for early voting, as the constitution only accounts for one election day.
Attorney General Kathy Jennings vowed to contest the decision due to its potential impact in November. "This extreme Republican minority lawsuit has now successfully disenfranchised our state's most vulnerable and noble voters," she stated during a Tuesday press conference. "Delawareans' access to the ballots is now among the worst in the country."
The DOJ intends to request a stay on the motion and seek clarity from the Supreme Court before the September primaries.
Sen. Pettyjohn anticipated the appeal and former Republican Party chair Jane Brady said she believes, "it is important the Supreme Court speak on this as the final arbiter." Both believe the highest court will uphold the latest judgement.
GOP lawmakers announced plans to address early voting in the coming weeks through a constitutional amendment allowing for a 10-day early voting period. However, passing such an amendment requires a two-thirds majority in both chambers for two consecutive general assemblies, making it unlikely to impact the 2024 general election.
The AG's office noted that in the last election, 56,000 Delawareans used early voting and approximately 21,000, including veterans, the disabled, and caregivers, utilized permanent absentee ballots. They said, "if the ruling withstands appeal, it would affect all of them in the November general election."
The ruling does not impact the presidential primary scheduled for April 2.
