Coalition files lawsuit against Del. pretrial voter disenfranchisement

DELAWARE – The ACLU of Delaware, American Civil Liberties Union, Shaw Keller LLP, and Proskauer Rose LLP have filed a lawsuit challenging Delaware’s failure to provide eligible incarcerated voters any constitutionally guaranteed method of voting, which violates their First and 14th Amendment rights.

The coalition represents Prisoners for Legal Advocacy Network against the Delaware Department of Correction, Department of Elections, and Governor John Carney. Individuals awaiting trial or convicted of misdemeanor offenses are still eligible to vote in state and national elections, relying solely on absentee ballots since Delaware does not offer in-person voting in its correctional facilities.

In 2022, the Delaware Supreme Court struck down universal mail-in voting, with only a few exceptions, not including eligible incarcerated voters.

As of October 2023, Delaware incarcerated nearly 1,300 people on pretrial detention alone.

The ACLU of Delaware previously sent letters to the Department of Correction and Department of Elections to demand voting access be assured for eligible individuals. These demands included providing opportunities for voter registration and voting machine access in any Department of Correction facility housing eligible voters.

We’re told the state has no plans to meet these demands.