Press Release  Attorney General's Office Leads Multistate Coalition in Support of Delaware Early Voting Law

Boston — Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell’s Office is leading a coalition of 14 Attorneys General in filing an amicus brief with the Delaware Supreme Court supporting Delaware’s early voting statute against a lawsuit arguing that the Delaware state constitution requires all in-person votes to be cast on the same day, which would substantially limit voter access. Attorney General Campbell and her fellow Attorneys General believe that granting voters broader access to the polls is consistent with free and fair elections and does not pose constitutional issues.   

The brief highlights that 46 states allow early voting, and state constitutional provisions setting election dates should not and cannot be read as mandates that all voting occur on that date. It therefore argues that a Delaware trial court reached the wrong conclusion on these issues.   

In February, a Delaware trial court struck down the state’s early voting law, concluding that the Delaware constitution impliedly requires all in-person votes to be cast on election day. This ruling hinders voting access in the state, precluding early voting which has been demonstrated to meaningfully increase turnout and participation in democratic self-governance. 

The amicus emphasizes that of 46 states with early voting, 29 have constitutional provisions specifying an election date. Those constitutional provisions are entirely consistent with early voting, as they do not mandate all voting occur on a single day. And the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has reached that conclusion in a decision the brief highlights. The brief further argues that early voting promotes free elections by providing greater in-person access to polling places and is entirely consistent with election integrity.    

Joining AG Campbell in filing this amicus brief are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, the District of Columbia, Hawai‘i, Illinois, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Washington. 

This case is being handled by First Assistant Attorney General Patrick Moore, State Solicitor David C. Kravitz, and Assistant Attorneys General Vanessa A. Arslanian, Adam M. Cambier, and Erin E. Fowler of the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office. 

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