Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Voter Registration topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
House panel releases constitutional amendment to allow same‑day voter registration
Summary
The House Administration Committee voted to release House Bill 88, a proposed amendment to Article IV of the Delaware Constitution that would require the General Assembly to permit voter registration up to and including election day; the measure drew questions about process, fraud safeguards and potential staffing costs.
Representative Dennis Bush introduced House Bill 88 on behalf of the sponsor, saying the measure would change Article IV of the Delaware Constitution to allow registration up to election day. "What this bill will do is currently right now, registration, it has to occur within 10 days of the actual election," Bush told the House Administration Committee, and said a prior statutory effort (House Bill 25) was struck down in court (Albence v. Hayden), creating the need for a constitutional amendment.
The bill's nut graf: supporters say the change would expand ballot access and bring Delaware in line with many states that allow later registration; opponents and some committee members said the change raises operational and integrity questions that need more work before the measure is finalized.
Committee discussion focused on legal drafting, election integrity safeguards and operational impacts. Karen Lance, House attorney, confirmed the committee can amend the measure on its first legislative passage. Committee members raised a structural drafting question about how lines in the amendment would interact with other constitutional language; the sponsor said an amendment on drafting would be added to address that point.
State election officials and public commenters described how safeguards and cross‑checks operate now and how they would interact with same‑day registration. Anthony (identified in committee as the state's vice commissioner of elections) explained Delaware participates in data sharing through ERIC (the Electronic Registration Information Center) and said, "our membership through Eric, electronic registration information center, that actually is part of the agreement. It's actually any member states' data is compared after the election, and then we do follow‑up." He said referrals go to the appropriate law‑enforcement authority when potential double voting is discovered.
Public commenters urged the committee to advance the bill. Andy Bernstein, voting rights fellow at the ACLU of Delaware, testified that restrictive registration deadlines can disenfranchise eligible voters and said Delaware is an outlier: "Delaware is 1 of just 16 states that requires voters to register at least 24 in advance of an election," and he urged the committee to "vote in favor of HB 88 as a necessary step to ensure eligible voters have equal access to the ballot." Charito Calvaci Matejko urged lawmakers to "see the voting day as a date of holiday, where everybody gets together" and to provide the manpower needed to register voters on election day. Becca Cotto of YWCA Delaware said the amendment "is a critical step toward protecting and expanding the most fundamental right in our democracy, the right to vote."
Committee members also pressed operational questions. One member said polling places can be overwhelmed during presidential years and expressed concern about staffing if same‑day registration is allowed on election day. A different member asked whether provisional ballots or other interim processes could address verification concerns raised by same‑day registration; the sponsor acknowledged those topics would need follow‑up work with stakeholders if the amendment advances.
The committee voted to release HB 88 from committee to the House floor. Roll call recorded: Chair Harris — Yes; Vice Chair Ozinski — Yes; Speaker Leina Brown — Yes; Representative Dukes — No; Representative Spivolani — No. Having received the required number of votes, the motion carried. The committee did not identify a fiscal note during the hearing; members asked staff to determine potential staffing or fiscal impacts before further action.
Why it matters: HB 88 would require a constitutional change (two successive legislative approvals followed by a public referendum to amend the constitution) before same‑day registration could be implemented by statute. Supporters say it would expand access for recently moved and historically underrepresented voters; opponents and some members want clearer drafting, operational plans for election‑day staffing, and procedures (for example provisional ballots or post‑election ERIC checks) to address potential duplicate voting and processing burdens.
Votes at a glance: HB 88 — motion to release to the floor; outcome: carried by roll call (Yes: Harris, Ozinski, Leina Brown; No: Dukes, Spivolani). Fiscal note: not specified.
