WILMINGTON, Del. - The Delaware Court of Chancery has upheld the state’s permanent absentee voting law, rejecting a constitutional challenge brought by two candidates seeking election to the Delaware State Senate.
On Sept. 4 it was determined that Delaware’s permanent absentee voting statute does not violate the Delaware Constitution because it does not expand the circumstances under which a voter may cast an absentee ballot.
The lawsuit was brought by state Sen. Gerald Hocker and Steven Washington, both candidates for the Delaware State Senate in the 2026 general election. They challenged Delaware code that allows certain voters to obtain permanent absentee status.
Under the law, the Delaware Department of Elections automatically sends absentee ballots to people with permanent absentee status for elections in which they are entitled to vote. Hocker and Washington argued in the complaint that the system effectively gives voters indefinite absentee voting privileges, including in later elections when the reason that originally qualified them to vote absentee may no longer apply.
Vice Chancellor Bonnie David rejected that argument, pointing to provisions requiring people with permanent absentee status to notify the Department of Elections when the reason they qualified for absentee voting changes. The department is also required to cancel permanent absentee status when it receives written notice that the qualifying reason is no longer valid.
“Permanent” is a misnomer, David wrote, because the statute allows a person to vote absentee only while that person remains unable to vote in person for a reason permitted by the state constitution. Those reasons include certain public service, sickness or physical disability, occupation, vacation absence and religious reasons.
Hocker and Washington also argued that the Department of Elections does not adequately verify whether each permanent absentee voter remains eligible before every election. Their court filings cited roughly 1,000 people on the permanent absentee list who allegedly no longer received mail at their listed addresses and nearly 200 people they said were deceased. The court opinion said those concerns did not make the statute unconstitutional on its face.
According to the ruling, the Department of Elections sends a letter before each election cycle explaining permanent absentee eligibility requirements and reminding voters that they must report changes. The department also removes people from the permanent absentee list when they become ineligible or when mail is returned as undeliverable.
The ruling granted summary judgment to State Election Commissioner Anthony Albence and the Delaware Department of Elections and denied the motion filed by Hocker and Washington.
The decision comes ahead of the 2026 primary and general election. The Department of Elections told the court it is required to begin sending ballots to permanent absentee voters by Sept. 22.
