Delaware Supreme Court reverses ruling invalidating early voting and permanent absentee status laws

DOVER, Del. (AP) — Delaware’s Supreme Court on Friday reversed a judge’s ruling that state laws allowing early voting and permanent absentee status are unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court did not address the merits of the case, but it instead found only that the plaintiffs, a state elections inspector and a Republican lawmaker, did not have legal standing to challenge the laws.

Justice Gary Traynor said elections inspector Michael Mennella and Senate Minority Leader Gerald Hocker had not met their burden of establishing “imminent or particularized harm.” To achieve standing, he said, a plaintiff must demonstrate an injury that is “more than a generalized grievance” shared by the population at large.

“Because we have concluded that the plaintiffs do not have standing, we do not reach the merits of their state constitutional claims,” Traynor wrote in an opinion for the court.

The justices said Hocker did not establish standing as a purported candidate because he will not stand for reelection until 2026. “That election, in our view, is not imminent,” Traynor wrote.

The court also rejected Mennella’s argument that he has standing as an inspector of elections and would have the authority to turn away voters based on his belief that the laws are unconstitutional.

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