DOVER, Del. - The Delaware State Senate voted today to pass Senate Bill 3 (SB 3), which would remove limitations on the circumstances that allow absentee voting from the State Constitution. The Bill would also give the General Assembly the ability to set new rules and procedures to create a path to no-excuse absentee voting.
Under no-excuse absentee voting, voters would not require a documented reason to use an absentee ballot to vote.
“One of the three voting methods allowed here in Delaware is available only to a few, and only under a handful of narrow circumstances,” said Senator Darius Brown, the Bill’s primary sponsor. “Senate Bill 3 represents the first step toward lifting those restrictions and finally giving all Delaware voters the same right to a no-excuse absentee ballot that voters in 35 red and blue states across the country already enjoy.”
According to the Senate Majority Caucus, SB 3 would reiterate that absentee ballots would have to be accompanied by an oath or affirmation that an absentee voter is free from improper influence.
The Bill will now head to the House for consideration. Two-thirds majorities in both the House and Senate are required for Constitutional amendments in Delaware.