Source: http://delcode.delaware.gov/title15/c075/sc05/index.shtml
Timestamp: 2019-04-21 17:14:06+00:00

Document:
§ 7570 Purpose of subchapter; scope.
It is the purpose and intent of the General Assembly in enacting this subchapter to provide those qualified electors of municipalities governed under subchapter IV of this chapter who are unable to appear at a municipal election to cast their ballots with the ability to cast a ballot to be counted in the total for the municipal election.
§ 7571 Persons eligible to vote by absentee ballot.
(6) Because such person is unable to vote at a certain time or on a certain day due to the tenets or teachings of that person's religion.
§ 7572 Request for ballot; statement for absentee ballots; delivery of absentee ballots.
(a) An elector desiring to vote by absentee ballot in an election for which the elector is a qualified elector may request an absentee ballot from the municipality where the elector is qualified to vote by filing a written statement with the municipality no later than 12:00 noon the day before the election.
(b) A statement may be filed pursuant to this section by mailing it, delivering it, or causing it to be delivered to the municipality where the elector is qualified to vote.
f. The reason that the elector cannot appear at the regular polling place on the day of the election which reason shall be any of the reasons listed in § 7571 of this title.
(3) Be subscribed and sworn to by the elector.
(e) The State Election Commissioner shall create an absentee statement template that municipalities shall use in creating their own absentee statement by adding additional reasons that a person may vote by absentee ballot. The State Election Commissioner shall also designate envelopes and create a set of instructions for voters casting their votes by absentee ballot that municipalities may use to comply with the provisions of this subchapter.
(f) The municipality may adopt a printed or electronic statement form (or both), containing blanks associated with each item required by this section to be listed on a statement, which may be completed by any elector wishing to receive an absentee ballot pursuant to this section. An elector may submit a written or electronic request to the municipality for the municipality prepared statement form, which the municipality shall forward to the elector upon receipt of a request therefore.
§ 7573 Distribution of ballots, envelopes, and instructions; envelope specifications; prepaid postage.
(a) Upon receipt of a statement from an elector pursuant to § 7572 of this title, the municipality shall process the same and confirm that the elector qualifies for an absentee ballot pursuant to § 7571 of this title.
c. Addressed for return to the municipality where the elector is qualified to vote.
(c) Postage for all mailings made pursuant to this subsection shall be prepaid by the municipality.
(d) Nothing contained in this section shall prevent the issuance of an absentee ballot to those lawfully entitled thereto when the request is made less than 4 days prior to the election.
§ 7574 Requirements for ballot envelope; numbering and coding; voter identification label; affidavit of eligibility.
(3) Designed to protect its contents from tampering, removal or substitution without detection.
"I do solemnly swear (affirm) that to the best of my knowledge I am eligible to vote in this municipal election and that the address that appears on the label on this envelope is the address at which I am qualified to vote in this municipal election. I also do solemnly swear (affirm) under penalty of perjury that I have not received or accepted, or offered to receive or accept, any money or other item of value as compensation, inducement or reward for the giving or withholding of a vote at this municipal election, nor that I am acting under duress or threat of duress or harm."
§ 7575 Voting procedure; execution of affidavit; return of ballot.
(1) An elector who receives an absentee ballot pursuant to this chapter shall complete the ballot by marking it with the elector's selections and shall place the completed ballot in the envelope marked "BALLOT ENVELOPE."
(2) The elector shall confirm that the information about that elector on the ballot envelope is correct and then sign the self-administered oath.
(3) The elector shall then seal the ballot envelope.
b. Delivering it, or causing it to be delivered, to the municipality before the polls close on the day of the election.
§ 7576 Time limit for return of ballot; late ballots.
(a) Each municipality shall endorse the date and time of receipt on the ballot envelope of each absentee ballot received by the municipality.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, for an absentee ballot to be counted pursuant to this chapter, an elector voting by absentee ballot shall return the elector marked ballot to the municipality where the elector is qualified to vote before the polls close on the day of the election.
(c) Each municipality shall retain unopened any ballot envelope it receives after the polls close on the day of the election for 60 days after the election, or longer if directed by proper authority or required to do so by federal law.
§ 7577 Procedure on receipt of ballot envelope by municipality.
(3) Place the ballot envelope in a secure location until such time as it is opened and the ballot within it is counted.
(b) No agent or employee of the municipality shall open or attempt to open the ballot envelope, or change or alter or attempt to change or alter the ballot envelope, or any writing, printing or anything whatsoever thereon.
§ 7578 Counting procedure for absentee ballots.
At any time between the opening and the closing of the polls on an election day, absentee election judges selected by a municipality's board of elections, shall count absentee ballots at a properly noticed public meeting in the municipality's offices or at the place of the election, at the municipality's discretion, in accordance with the procedures set out below. Anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, at the discretion of the municipality, the board of elections may itself act as the absentee election judges.
(1) The municipality's board of elections shall appoint a sufficient number of teams of absentee election judges, each consisting of an odd number of electors, to open and tally the absentee ballots before the close of the polls. The board of elections shall be responsible for deciding all challenges and overseeing the process.
(2) The municipality shall provide a list of persons who have returned absentee ballots for review by the public and challengers at the meeting. Challenges must be made prior to the opening of the ballot envelope for the voter being challenged.
(3) If a person has challenged an absentee voter as provided in § 7557(d)(5) of this title, an absentee election judge shall give that person's ballot envelope to the board of elections who shall then hear the evidence and decide the challenge. If the board of elections upholds the challenge, the chairperson shall write the word "CHALLENGED" on the ballot envelope, the reason for the challenge and then sign the chairperson's own name. When the challenge is denied, the ballot envelope shall be returned to the team to be opened and counted. The board of elections, after the close of the polls, shall seal the ballot envelopes for all voters who were successfully challenged in a carrier envelope along with a log sheet showing the serial number of the carrier envelope.
(4) Where absentee ballots have been prepared for counting in advance of the opening of the polls in accordance with § 7579 of this title and are in a carrier envelope, the absentee election judges, upon opening a carrier envelope, shall verify that the serial number on the log sheet is the same as the serial number on the carrier envelope. If the numbers are not the same, the judges shall report the discrepancy to the board of elections and then follow the instructions of the board regarding that carrier envelope. If there are no discrepancies or the discrepancy has been resolved, the team shall remove the ballots from the carrier envelope.
a. Check the ballot envelopes against the list of absentee voters. The teams shall not process any ballot envelopes that the municipality has not listed as returned on the list of absentee voters until the discrepancy has been resolved to the board of election's satisfaction.
b. Reject ballot envelopes that the voter did not sign or seal, or for a voter who is known to be dead. An absentee election judge shall print the word "REJECTED" and the reason for the rejection on the front of the ballot envelope and then at least 2 of the absentee elections judges shall initial beside the entry.
c. Open each ballot envelope in such a manner as not to deface or destroy the self-administered statement thereon or the absentee ballot enclosed and then remove the ballot in such manner as to avoid seeing the markings thereon from the ballot envelope. If there is no ballot in the ballot envelope or if there is more than 1 ballot in a ballot envelope, an absentee election judge shall write the word "REJECTED" and the reason for the rejection on the front of the ballot envelope and then at least 2 absentee elections judges shall initial beside the entries. In the case where there was more than 1 ballot in a ballot envelope, the team shall put the ballots back into the ballot envelope.
d. Once an absentee ballot judge has removed a ballot from a ballot envelope, the judge shall put it face down on the table without examining it. The team shall open ballot envelopes until they have a sufficient number of ballots and ballot envelopes to fill a carrier envelope, create a predetermined batch, or they have opened all of the ballot envelopes for a municipal election district or the election, whichever occurs first. The team shall then shuffle the ballots and then proceed to tally the votes for that group of ballots.
b. Tally votes for write-in candidates on the absentee vote tally sheets if the municipality's charter or code permits write-in votes.
(7) Once a team has tallied the absentee votes for a group of ballots, the members shall sign both copies of the absentee vote tally sheet and then put the voted ballots, rejected ballots, ballot envelopes, and 1 copy of the absentee vote tally sheet into a carrier envelope. The team shall then complete the log sheet showing the serial number of the carrier envelope, put the log sheet into the carrier envelope and then seal the carrier envelope. The team shall then give the carrier envelope and the second copy of the absentee vote tally sheet to the board of elections.
b. Record the results from the absentee vote tally sheet onto a master absentee vote tally sheet for the election. After the board of elections has received all of the absentee vote tally sheets and has entered the results for each candidate on the master absentee vote tally sheet, the board shall total the votes for each candidate and then, after the polls have closed, enter the results on the vote tabulation for the election. The board of elections shall then seal the absentee vote tally sheet or sheets in a carrier envelope along with a log sheet showing the serial number of the carrier envelope.
(9) Ballot envelopes received after the ballots have been counted or the ballots for a specific municipal election district have been counted shall be opened and tallied in accordance with the above procedure except that they all shall be sealed in 1 or more carrier envelopes, as necessary, after the polls have closed.
(10) The teams shall repeat the above process as many times as necessary in order to count the absentee ballots.
(11) A municipality that permits absentee voting shall establish a procedure to insure that persons who voted by absentee ballot shall not be permitted to vote at a polling place on the day of the election.
(12) Anything herein to the contrary notwithstanding, when the number of absentee ballots returned to the municipality is less than 5, the municipality may develop a counting procedure protective of the secrecy of the ballot.
§ 7579 Preparing absentee ballots to be counted.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the board of election of any municipality may open absentee ballot envelopes in a public meeting in order to prepare them to be counted. Such meeting shall take place, upon proper notice, at any time between 8:00 a.m. of the day prior to the election and up to 1 hour before the polls are scheduled to open. The municipality shall notify each candidate on the ballot that they may have challengers at the meeting during which the board of election opens the absentee ballots. At such meeting, the board of elections shall act in accordance with the same procedures as set out in § 7578(1), (2), (3), and (5)(a) through (d) of this title inclusive, with the exception that the absentee ballot judges shall not proceed to tally the votes for any group of ballots but shall then secure such ballots, ballot envelopes, and any rejected ballot envelopes in a carrier envelope along with the log sheet showing the serial number of the log sheet. The absentee ballot judges shall then seal the carrier envelope or envelopes and deliver it/them to the board of elections. The board of elections shall then secure the carrier envelope or envelopes in locked cabinets until opened at a subsequent public meeting to tally the ballots on the day of the election in accordance with § 7578(4) and (6) through (10) of this title.
§ 7580 Carrier envelope specifications; carrier envelopes as ballot boxes.
(a) The municipality shall purchase envelopes to be used as carrier envelopes, which shall be security mailing envelopes, designed to securely protect the contents thereof from tampering, removal, or substitution without detection and shall be large enough to accommodate multiple absentee ballots cast in the election.
(4) Ensure the security of said ballots in the event they must be moved for the purposes of certifying an election or recounting votes cast in an election.
(c) A sealed carrier envelope may be reopened only when necessary to certify an election or recount votes cast in an election.
(d) In the event the municipality must move absentee ballots for the purposes of certifying an election, or recounting votes cast in an election, it shall select the carrier envelopes for the affected municipal election districts and move them, in a secure fashion, to the location where the carrier envelopes will be opened and the votes inside inspected.
(2) Put the carrier envelope in a secure location until such time it is needed for a recount, legal action, or is to be destroyed as provided in this chapter.
(a) The ballot of any elector choosing to vote by absentee ballot may be challenged for the same causes and in the same manner as provided in this title for other voters.
(2) On the ground that the self-administered statement on the ballot envelope is not signed.
(c) If a challenge is made pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, an absentee judge shall return the ballot to its ballot envelope, shall mark the ballot envelope as "CHALLENGED", and shall set the envelope aside in a secure location for consideration at a later time as provided elsewhere in this title. If a challenge is made pursuant to subsection (b) of this section, an absentee judge shall mark the ballot envelope as "CHALLENGED" and shall set it aside in a secure location for consideration at a later time as provided elsewhere in this title.
(d) All challenges to absentee ballots must be resolved before the counting of votes may be considered complete. Any challenge not resolved by the absentee judges within a reasonable time of the challenge having been made shall be referred to the board of elections for the municipality for resolution.
(5) It is evident that the ballot envelope has been tampered with or altered.
(b) If the ballot envelope has not been opened at the time an absentee judge decides that the offered ballot contained therein should not be accepted or voted for any of the reasons set forth in subsection (a) of this section, it shall not be opened but shall instead be endorsed thereon as, "REJECTED", giving reason therefore.
(c) If the ballot envelope has been opened at the time an absentee judge decides that the offered ballot contained therein should not be accepted or voted for any of the reasons set forth in subsection (a) of this section, the ballot shall be returned to its ballot envelope and the absentee judge shall endorse on the ballot envelope, "REJECTED", giving reason therefore.
(d) Whenever it is made to appear by due proof to an absentee judge that any absentee voter, who has marked and forwarded the absentee voter's ballot, has died, the ballot envelope containing the ballot shall not be opened but shall be marked "REJECTED, DEAD", and shall be preserved and disposed of as other rejected ballots.
(e) Whenever a ballot has not been counted but has been rejected pursuant to this section, the appropriate notation shall be made on the absentee ballot tally and the number of ballots so rejected shall be noted on the certificates of election.
(f) Ballots rejected pursuant to this section shall be deposited in a carrier envelope for the municipal election district to which they apply.
§ 7583 Validity of absentee voter's ballot for wrong municipal election district.
If an absentee voter marks and returns an absentee ballot for a municipal election district other than the 1 of which the absentee voter is a duly registered elector, such ballot, because thereof, shall not be adjudged invalid, but, as indicated by the marking of the ballot by the voter, shall be counted as a vote for every candidate appearing thereon who is a candidate for an office to be duly voted for in the municipal election district.
§ 7584 Procedure if requests or ballots sent to wrong official; absentee ballots received by election officers.
If any request for an absentee ballot and accompanying envelopes, or any marked ballot of any such elector are addressed to and returned to any official other than the proper official of the municipality where the elector is qualified to vote, then the official shall immediately transfer such request or returned marked ballot to the proper officer of the municipality where the elector is qualified to vote, to be acted upon by the municipality as provided by this subchapter.
§ 7585 File of absentee voters.
(8) The date the ballot is returned.
(b) The municipality shall compile from its files a list of names and addresses of all applicants for absentee ballots, and shall, upon request, send current and complete copies thereof without cost to candidates on the ballot in the forthcoming election. Such lists shall be provided no later than 2 weeks prior to the date of the election.

References: § 7571

§ 7572
 § 7571

§ 7573
 § 7572
 § 7571

§ 7574

§ 7575

§ 7576

§ 7577

§ 7578
 § 7557
 § 7579

§ 7579
 § 7578
 § 7578

§ 7580

§ 7583

§ 7584

§ 7585