Delaware’s early voting and permanent absentee laws are unconstitutional, a judge says

DOVER, Del. (AP) — Laws allowing early voting and permanent absentee status violate Delaware’s constitution and are invalid, a judge ruled in a lawsuit brought by a state elections inspector and a Republican lawmaker.

The laws are “inconsistent with our constitution and therefore cannot stand,” Superior Court Judge Mark Conner declared in a ruling late Friday.

Elections inspector Michael Mennella and Senate Minority Leader Gerald Hocker showed by “clear and convincing evidence” that the laws were unconstitutional, the judge said.

Friday’s ruling follows a 2022 state Supreme Court decision that laws allowing universal voting by mail and Election Day registration were unconstitutional. The justices said the vote-by-mail statute impermissibly expanded absentee voting eligibility, while same-day registration conflicted with registration periods spelled out in the constitution.

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“The words in our constitution have meaning, and they are given their plain meaning by the courts,” Jane Brady,