Delaware General Assembly


CHAPTER 695

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 15, DELAWARE CODE, PROVIDING FOR WRITE-IN VOTING ON VOTING MACHINES AND ABSENTEE BALLOTS.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Delaware:

Section 1. Amend Title 15, Delaware Code, §101 by deleting the definition of "Ballot" and substituting in lieu thereof a new definition to read as follows:

"Ballot" means that portion of the cardboard or paper or other material to be placed within the ballot frames of a voting machine or to be used for absentee voting containing the names of the candidates and the designation of the party by which he was nominated, a space for the voter to write in the name of any candidate of his choice for any office, and the statement of any question submitted.

Section 2. Amend Title 15, Delaware Code, §4502 (a), by deleting the first sentence therefrom in its entirety and substituting in lieu thereof a new sentence to read as follows:

For each general election, the Department of Elections in each county shall cause ballots to be printed on which the names of all candidates of a qualified political party to be voted for in its county and in the several districts therein and the space for the voter to write in the name of any candidate of his choice for any office shall be printed in parallel columns.

Section 3. Amend Title 15, Delaware Code, §4502 (b), by deleting the last sentence therefrom in its entirety and substituting in lieu thereof a new sentence to read as follows:

The device named and chosen and the lists of candidates of the Democratic Party shall be placed in the first column on the left-hand side of the ballots, of the Republican Party in the second column, and of any other party and the space for the voter to write in the name of any candidate of his choice for any office in such order as the Department of Elections shall decide.

Section 4. Amend Title 15, Delaware Code, §4502 (c), by altering the sample official ballot set forth therein so that the spaces for the voter to write in the name of any candidate of his choice for any office appear to the left-hand side of the offices.

Section 5. Amend Title 15, Delaware Code, §5002 (a) 3 by deleting the semi-colon at the end thereof and substituting in lieu thereof the following:

or to write in the name of any candidate of his choice for any office;

Section 6. Amend Title 15, Delaware Code, §5002 (a) 8, by deleting said section in its entirety and substituting in lieu thereof a new section to read as follows:

It shall correctly register or record and accurately count all votes cast for any and all candidates of a political party, and for or against any and all questions, and correctly register or record the names of all candidates written in by voters;

Section 7. Amend Title 15, Delaware Code, §5008(c), by deleting said section in its entirety and substituting in lieu thereof a new section to read as follows:

The machine shall be so adjusted that when one or more knobs or the slide mechanism for write-in voting, equaling the total number of persons to be elected to the offices shall have been operated, or other knobs or the slide mechanism for write-in voting used in connection with that office shall be thereby locked. After the last candidate's name at the right in any horizontal row, or below the last candidate's name in any vertical column, the knob or knobs, if there be any, under or opposite the title or titles of office or offices shall be locked; all knobs with the exception of the slide mechanism for write-in voting shall be locked in any row or column which contains no names of candidates and all knobs with the exception of the slide mechanism for write-in voting shall be locked in spaces, if any, which do not contain names of candidates even though the names of candidates appear in other spaces in the same row or column.

Approved July 14, 1970.