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Stories about Delaware

Constitutional amendment passed in Delaware requiring state legislators to live in their districts

By Nicole Fisher
In State
April 13, 2023 at 12:54 PM

The Delaware General Assembly passed a constitutional amendment that would require state senators and state representatives to reside in the legislative districts that they represent for the duration of their term in office. 

Rep. Paul Baumbach (D-23), who sponsored the bill, said, “We expect that when we elect an official to represent us, they live in the district they serve. We discovered that this is not required in Delaware, and so over multiple years we are completing the steps to correct this oversight. HB77 ensures that your elected members of the legislature live in the district they serve. In Delaware, a state of neighbors, we want to ensure that we are represented by a neighbor.”

House Bill 77 would include language in the Delaware Constitution that would require state senators and state representatives to continuously reside in the district they represent during their term of office. This provision would not apply if a representative or senator no longer resides in the district they represent due to redistricting, as well as due to a “reason of an event that can be neither anticipated nor controlled.”

Article II, Section 3 of the Delaware Constitution currently requires that state senators and representatives must have lived in the district they are representing for at least a year prior to their election, but does not require the senator or representative to continuously live in the address of the district they are serving in.

To amend the Delaware Constitution, a two-thirds supermajority vote in each legislative chamber is required. The amendment passed the House by a vote of 39-0 on March 16, 2023, and passed the Senate by a vote of 20-0 on April 6.

Delaware is the only state in the country where amending the constitution does not require voter approval, whereas voter approval is required to amend the constitution in every other state. The current constitution has been amended over 100 times, with the most recent amendments being passed by the General Assembly in 2018 and 2021.

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Forms of direct democracy in the American states



Delaware Supreme Court ends no-excuse mail ballots, same-day voter registration

By Joel Williams
In 2022 elections
October 11, 2022 at 11:11 AM

On Oct. 7, 2022, the Delaware Supreme Court issued a ruling in Albence v. Biggin and Mennella, finding that a state law permitting no-excuse mail-in voting and same-day voter registration was unconstitutional. Voters may now only receive mail ballots under certain conditions and the deadline to register to vote in the Nov. 8 general election will be Oct. 15.

The majority-Democratic state legislature passed the legislation allowing both no-excuse mail-in voting and same-day registration passed this summer. Legislators passed the laws after votes to put them on the ballot as a constitutional amendment failed.

In a response to the ruling, a spokesman for Gov. John Carney (D) said, “The governor’s position has been simple and consistent,. We should make it easier – not harder – for all eligible Delawareans to vote and participate in our democratic process.”

Jane Brady, Delaware Republican Party chair, said, “I am very pleased that the court recognized the language of the constitution means something and it was important that the ruling they issued was supported by law.”

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Lydia York defeats Delaware Auditor Kathy McGuiness in Democratic primary

By Joel Williams
In 2022 elections, State
September 15, 2022 at 9:15 PM

Lydia York defeated incumbent Kathy McGuiness in the Democratic primary for state auditor on September 13, 2022. McGuiness was elected to the office in 2018.

McGuiness was convicted on three misdemeanor charges in July 2022: conflict of interest, structuring, and official misconduct. The charges stemmed from McGuiness hiring her daughter to work in the auditor’s office as other employees’ hours were cut during the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the conviction, leaders in both chambers of the state legislature called on McGuiness to resign. This was the first instance of a sitting statewide elected official in Delaware being convicted of a crime. McGuiness faces maximum sentences of up to one year in prison for each misdemeanor count.

McGuiness said that the charges against her were politically motivated and that it was not illegal to hire a family member. Her attorney said they would appeal the case to the Delaware Supreme Court. “I have a great team so I look forward to working again with them to rectify the situation,” McGuiness said.

The Democratic Party of Delaware endorsed York in July. Chairwoman Betsy Maron said, “We saw Ms.York’s candidacy as an opportunity to restore the Auditor’s office to its intended function and do away with the political theater that has kept the incumbent at center stage for all the wrong reasons. Her legal, business, and finance backgrounds make Lydia York an immensely qualified Auditor who we are confident will do right by all Delawareans.”

York’s professional experience includes working as an accountant with PriceWaterhouseCoopers (then Coopers & Lybrand) and as a tax attorney. York said she filed to run because of the charges against McGuiness. “[R]egardless of your views on the trial and the outcome and all of that all a lot of witnesses testified to a work environment that was described across the board as toxic and it would be one of my primary missions frankly is to make that stop so people can do their work,” she said.



A look at contested state legislative primaries in Delaware

By Douglas Kronaizl
In 2022 elections, State
September 6, 2022 at 8:26 PM

Delaware has 14 contested state legislative primaries this year, an 8% increase from 2020.

Of the 14 contested primaries, there are 11 for Democrats and three for Republicans. For Democrats, this is down from 12 in 2020, an 8% decrease. For Republicans, the number is up 67% from one in 2020.

Eight incumbents face primary challenges, representing 15% of all incumbents running for re-election. This is lower than in 2020 and 2014, but higher than the 2018 and 2016 election cycles.

Of the eight incumbents in contested primaries, six are Democrats and two are Republicans.

Overall, 108 major party candidates—62 Democrats and 46 Republicans—filed to run. All 41 House and 21 Senate seats are up for election.

Seven of those seats are open, meaning no incumbents filed. This guarantees that at least 11% of the legislature will be represented by newcomers next year, the second-largest such percentage compared to the four preceding election cycles behind 2018, when 21% of seats were guaranteed to newcomers.

Delaware has had a Democratic trifecta since the party won control of the House in 2008. Democrats currently have a 26-15 majority in the House and a 14-7 majority in the Senate.

Delaware’s state legislative primaries are scheduled for Sept. 13, the 17th and final statewide primary date of the 2022 state legislative election cycle.

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Delaware sees two U.S. House candidates this year, the fewest since 2014

By Juan Garcia de Paredes
In 2022 elections
August 30, 2022 at 5:41 PM

The filing deadline for candidates running for Congress in Delaware this year was July 12, 2022. Two candidates are running for Delaware’s At-Large U.S. House district, one Democrat and one Republican. 

The two candidates running this year are one fewer than the three who ran in 2020 and 2018, and five fewer than the seven who ran in 2016, when the seat was last open. Two candidates ran in 2014, and three did in 2012.

Here are some other highlights from this year’s filings:

  • Because it has only one U.S. House seat, Delaware did not need to redistrict after the 2020 census.
  • Incumbent Lisa Blunt Rochester (D), first elected in 2016, is running for re-election.
  • Lee Murphy (R) was the only Republican candidate who filed to run this year. 
  • Blunt Rochester and Murphy were the Democratic and Republican nominees in 2020, meaning this year’s general election will be a rematch. 
  • Since the two candidates are from different parties, there are no contested primaries this year. The Republican primary was contested in 2020, 2018, and 2012, while the Democratic primary was contested in 2016. There were no contested primaries in 2014. 

Delaware and two other states — New Hampshire and Rhode Island — are holding primary elections on September 13, 2022. In Delaware, the winner of a primary election is the candidate who receives the greatest number of votes, even if he or she does not win an outright majority of votes cast.



Delaware auditor faces primary challenger following misdemeanor convictions

By Joel Williams
In 2022 elections
August 25, 2022 at 4:57 PM

Incumbent Kathy McGuiness and Lydia York are running in the Democratic primary for Delaware state auditor on September 13, 2022. 

McGuiness was elected to the office in 2018. Before becoming state auditor, she served five terms on the Rehoboth Beach City Commission and worked as a pharmacist. McGuiness is running on her record as auditor. Her campaign website said, “Under Kathy’s leadership, the Auditor’s Office has become a nationwide leader in innovation and efficiency. McGuiness has created a new mobile app for Delaware taxpayers to report fraud, waste and abuse, and also created an interactive CARES Act Fund Tracker portal.”

McGuiness was convicted on three misdemeanor charges in July 2022: conflict of interest, structuring, and official misconduct. The charges stemmed from McGuiness hiring her daughter to work in the auditor’s office as other employees’ hours were cut during the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the conviction, leaders in both chambers of the state legislature called on McGuiness to resign. This was the first instance of a sitting statewide elected official in Delaware being convicted of a crime. McGuiness faces maximum sentences of up to one year in prison for each misdemeanor count.

McGuiness said that the charges against her were politically motivated and that it was not illegal to hire a family member. Her attorney said they would appeal the case to the Delaware Supreme Court. “I have a great team so I look forward to working again with them to rectify the situation,” McGuiness said.

York’s professional experience includes working as an accountant with PriceWaterhouseCoopers (then Coopers & Lybrand) and as a tax attorney. York said she filed to run because of the charges against McGuiness. “[R]egardless of your views on the trial and the outcome and all of that all a lot of witnesses testified to a work environment that was described across the board as toxic and it would be one of my primary missions frankly is to make that stop so people can do their work,” she said.

The Democratic Party of Delaware endorsed York in July. Chairwoman Betsy Maron said, “We saw Ms.York’s candidacy as an opportunity to restore the Auditor’s office to its intended function and do away with the political theater that has kept the incumbent at center stage for all the wrong reasons. Her legal, business, and finance backgrounds make Lydia York an immensely qualified Auditor who we are confident will do right by all Delawareans.”

The stated function of the auditor’s office is to “[serve] Delawareans by providing independent objective oversight of the state government’s use of taxpayer dollars with the goal of deterring fraud, waste and abuse through unbiased assessments, including the use of various audits, special reports, and investigations of financial operations designed to ensure statutory compliance while enhancing governmental economy, efficiency and effectiveness.”

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story erroneously listed the Democratic primary as occurring on September 6.



Pillsbury wins Dover City Council special election

By Jaclyn Beran
In Local
November 17, 2021 at 4:20 PM

The city of Dover, D.E., held a nonpartisan special election for District 1 on the city council on Nov. 16. The filing deadline for this election was Nov. 1.

Julia Pillsbury defeated Brandy Walker in the special election with 53.5% of the vote. According to unofficial results, Pillsbury received 272 votes to Walker’s 236. The special election was called after Matthew Lindell resigned from his seat on the nine-seat city council after deciding to move from the district. Lindell served from 2017 to 2021.

Dover is the capital city of Delaware and the second-largest city in the state. It had an estimated population of 39,403 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Ballotpedia covers elections for mayor, city council, and district attorney in all capital cities in the U.S.

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A closer look at Delaware’s new state legislative maps

By Douglas Kronaizl
In State
November 16, 2021 at 8:22 PM

On Nov. 2, 2021, Gov. John Carney (D) signed Senate Bill 199 (SB 199) into law, enacting new maps for Delaware’s 21 state Senate and 41 state House districts. These maps will take effect for the state’s 2022 legislative elections.

Eighteen states have finalized their state legislative redistricting maps following the 2020 census. At this point in the 2010 redistricting cycle, 29 states had completed their legislative maps.

The Delaware General Assembly approved the final House and Senate map proposals on Nov. 1 before sending them to Carney. 

The state Senate approved the maps along party lines with all 14 Democrats in favor and all seven Republicans against. Senate President Pro Tempore Dave Sokola (D) said, “The map does retain the cores of all 21 current Senate districts … It does retain five majority-minority Senate districts. It retains one majority-Black Senate district.” 

Republican senators opposing the bill said the Senate map did not account for population growth in Sussex County, the state’s fastest-growing. Senate Minority Leader Gerald Hocker (R) said, “Our constituents in Sussex County are way underrepresented … It’s not fair to the senators in those districts and it’s not fair to the staffing we have to represent those districts.”

SB 199 faced no debate in the House of Representatives, where members voted 40-1 in favor with state Rep. Michael Smith (R) voting against.

Democrats currently control both chambers of the Delaware General Assembly with a 14-7 majority in the Senate and a 26-15 majority in the House.

Since Delaware was apportioned a single at-large U.S. House seat, it will not conduct congressional redistricting during the 2020 cycle.

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Voters in Dover to decide city council special election on Nov. 16

By Jaclyn Beran
In Local
November 10, 2021 at 4:52 PM

The city of Dover, D.E., is holding a nonpartisan special election for District 1 on the city council on Nov. 16. The filing deadline for this election was Nov. 1.

Julia Pillsbury and Brandy Walker are running in the special election. The special election was called after Matthew Lindell resigned from his seat on the nine-seat city council after deciding to move from the district. Lindell served from 2017 to 2021.

Dover is the capital city of Delaware and the second-largest city in the state. It had an estimated population of 39,403 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Ballotpedia covers elections for mayor, city council, and district attorney in all capital cities in the U.S.

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Filing deadline approaches for special city council election in Dover, Del.

By Megan Feeney
In Local
October 25, 2021 at 9:59 AM

Candidates interested in running in the special election for the District 1 seat of the Dover City Council in Delaware have until Nov. 1 to file. The general election is scheduled for Nov. 16. No primary election was scheduled.

The special election was called after Matthew Lindell resigned from his seat on the nine-seat city council after deciding to move from the district. Lindell served from 2017 to 2021.

Dover is the capital city of Delaware. Ballotpedia covers elections for mayor, city council, and district attorney in all capital cities in the U.S.

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