Delaware House of Representatives elections, 2020

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2020 Delaware House Elections
General	November 3, 2020
Primary	September 15, 2020

Past Election Results

2018・2016・2014 2012・2010・2008

2020 Elections
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Neither party gained seats in the 2020 elections for Delaware House of Representatives, preserving the Democratic supermajority. All 41 seats in the chamber were up for election in 2020. Heading into the election, Democrats held 26 seats and Republicans held 15. The partisan makeup of the chamber did not change, so Democrats maintained a 26-15 majority.

The Delaware House of Representatives was one of 86 state legislative chambers with elections in 2020. All 41 Delaware House seats were up for election in 2020. There are 99 chambers throughout the country. In 2018, 87 out of 99 legislative chambers held elections.

Delaware's 2020 gubernatorial and state legislative elections affected partisan control of redistricting following the 2020 census. In Delaware, the state legislature is responsible for drafting both congressional and state legislative district plans. District plans are subject to gubernatorial veto.

Aftermath

Selection of speaker

The Delaware House of Representative's leadership remained unchanged after the 2020 election. Democrats Pete Schwartzkopf and Valerie Longhurst were chosen as House Speaker and majority leader, respectively, while Rep. Larry Mitchell was chosen as majority whip. The Delaware House of Representative's Republican caucus selected State Rep. Daniel Short to remain House Minority Leader and State Rep. Timothy Dukes to once again serve as minority whip. The General Assembly did not convene again until January 12, 2021.

Election procedure changes in 2020

See also: Changes to election dates, procedures, and administration in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020

Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.

Delaware modified its absentee/mail-in voting procedures for the November 3, 2020, general election as follows:

• Absentee/mail-in voting: Vote-by-mail applications were sent to all registered voters in the general election.

For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.

Party control

See also: Partisan composition of state houses and State government trifectas

Delaware House of Representatives
Party		As of November 3, 2020	After November 4, 2020
	Democratic Party	26	26
	Republican Party	15	15
Total		41	41

General election

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Primary election

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Incumbents who were not re-elected

See also: Annual State Legislative Competitiveness Report: Vol. 10, 2020

Incumbents defeated in the general election

No incumbents lost in the Nov. 3 general election.

Incumbents defeated in primary elections

Three incumbents lost in the Sept. 15 primaries. Those incumbents were:

Name	Party	Office
Raymond Seigfried	Democratic	House District 7
John Viola	Democratic	House District 26
Earl Jaques Jr.	Democratic	House District 27

Retiring incumbents

One incumbent was not on the ballot in 2020. That incumbent was:

Name	Party	Office	Reason
S. Quinton Johnson	Democratic	House District 8	Retired

The one retirement in 2020 represented a decrease from ten in 2018. It was the lowest number within the preceding decade along with the 2016 elections. The table below shows the number of open seats in each election held between 2010 and 2020.

Open Seats in Delaware House of Representatives elections: 2010 - 2020
Year	Total seats	Open seats	Seats with incumbents running for re-election
2020	41	1 (2 percent)	40 (98 percent)
2018	41	10 (24 percent)	31 (76 percent)
2016	41	1 (2 percent)	40 (98 percent)
2014	41	2 (5 percent)	39 (95 percent)
2012	41	7 (17 percent)	34 (83 percent)
2010	41	5 (12 percent)	36 (88 percent)

Process to become a candidate

See also: Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Delaware

See statutes: Title 15 of the Delaware Code

Major party candidates

A major party candidate may be nominated in one of two ways: by filing a notice of candidacy or by being nominated at convention.

Filing a notice of candidacy

To be nominated at the primary election, a major party candidate must file by this method. The candidate must first file a notice of candidacy. If filing for a statewide office, the candidate must file this form with the chair of the state committee of his or her party. If seeking district office, the candidate must file this form with the chair of the county committee of his or her party. The notice of candidacy must include the signature, printed name, and address of the candidate. A candidate must be a registered member of the party he or she is seeking to represent in the election.

A major party candidate must file a copy of the original notice of candidacy with the state election commissioner and pay the party filing fee by noon on the second Tuesday in July. Filing fees are determined by the political parties but cannot be greater than 1 percent of the total salary for the entire term of the office being sought by the candidate.

A candidate may file an in-lieu-of-filing-fee petition if he or she is considered indigent by the state. To be considered indigent by the state, the candidate must be receiving benefits under the Supplemental Security Income Program for Aged, Blind, and Disabled, or the state election commissioner must determine that the candidate meets the income and resources test to receive such benefits. In order to determine indigent status, the candidate must provide copies of his or her income tax returns and must authorize the state election commissioner to receive any other information that might be needed from banks, credit reporting services, etc.

The in-lieu-of-filing-fee petition must be signed by a number of registered voters equal to 1 percent of all registered voters in the election district(s) in which the candidate will appear on the ballot. These petitions cannot be circulated until after January 1 of the year of the election in which the candidate is running.

Nomination at a party convention

A major party candidate may be nominated at a state convention only for offices for which no candidate has filed or for offices for which minor party candidates have been selected. A candidate nominated at a convention must be registered with the party he or she seeks to represent at the time of the convention. Conventions to nominate such candidates must be held before August 1 of the year of the election. If any candidates are nominated by convention, the presiding officer and secretary of the convention must submit a certificate of nomination to the state election commissioner by September 1 in the year of the election. If September 1 falls on a weekend or holiday, this certificate must be filed by the next business day.

Minor party candidates

Minor party candidates are selected by conventions. To be nominated at a convention, a candidate must be a registered member of the minor party. These nominating conventions must be held on or before August 1 in the year of the election. For a candidate for statewide office, the party must file a nominating resolution with the state election commissioner by 4:30 p.m. on August 15 in the year of the election. For a candidate for a district office, the party must file a nominating resolution with the appropriate local election official by 4:30 p.m. on August 15 in the year of the election. A nominating resolution must contain the candidate's name and address and the office for which he or she was nominated. Certificates of nomination for each candidate must be filed by September 1 in the year of the election.

Unaffiliated candidates

Unaffiliated candidates petition to gain access to the general election ballot. An unaffiliated candidate must collect signatures equal to 1 percent of all eligible voters as of December 31 of the year prior to the election. The petition can be circulated between January 1 and July 15 of the election year and must be filed with the department of elections in each county in which the petition was circulated. An unaffiliated candidate must also file a sworn declaration stating that he or she has not been affiliated with any political party for at least three months prior to filing as an unaffiliated candidate. This form is filed with the state election commissioner.

Write-in candidates

Write-in candidates are only permitted to run in general or special elections. To have his or her votes counted, a write-in candidate must file a declaration form. If running for statewide office, the candidate must file this form with the state election commissioner. If running for a district office, the form must be filed with the appropriate local department of elections.

A candidate cannot run as a write-in if he or she has already been placed on the general election ballot. Additionally, a candidate cannot run as a write-in if he or she withdrew as a candidate in the same election year.

Residency requirements

A candidate for elective office must provide the state election commissioner with proof of residency. Proof of residency must show that the candidate lives in the district or area that the candidate seeks to represent.

2020 ballot access requirements

The table below details filing requirements for Delaware House of Representatives candidates in the 2020 election cycle.

Filing requirements for state legislative candidates, 2020
Chamber name	Party	Signatures required	Filing fee	Filing deadline	Source
Delaware House of Representatives	Qualified party	N/A	$945.00	7/14/2020	Source
Delaware House of Representatives	Unaffiliated	1% of registered voters residing in the district	N/A	9/1/2020	Source

Qualifications

See also: State legislature candidate requirements by state

Article II, Section 3 of the Delaware Constitution states: "No person shall be a Representative who shall not have attained the age of twenty-four years, and have been a citizen and inhabitant of the State three years next preceding the day of his election, and the last year of that term an inhabitant of the Representative District in which he shall be chosen, unless he shall have been absent on the public business of the United States or of this State."

Salaries and per diem

See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries

State legislative salaries, 2024
Salary	Per diem
$50,678/year	No per diem is paid.

When sworn in

See also: When state legislators assume office after a general election

Delaware legislators assume office the first Wednesday after the first Monday in November (the day after election day).

Delaware political history

Trifectas

A state government trifecta is a term that describes single-party government, when one political party holds the governor's office and has majorities in both chambers of the legislature in a state government.

Delaware Party Control: 1992-2024
Sixteen years of Democratic trifectas  •  No Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24
Governor	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
Senate	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
House	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D

Presidential politics in Delaware

2016 Presidential election results

U.S. presidential election, Delaware, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes	Electoral votes
	Democratic	Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine	53.4%	235,603	3
	Republican	Donald Trump/Mike Pence	41.9%	185,127	0
	Libertarian	Gary Johnson/Bill Weld	3.3%	14,757	0
	Green	Jill Stein/Ajamu Baraka	1.4%	6,103	0
Total Votes				441,590	3
Election results via: Delaware Department of Elections

Voter information

How the primary works

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Delaware utilizes a closed primary process, in which the selection of a party's candidates in an election is limited to registered party members.

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

Poll times

In Delaware, polls are open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.

Registration requirements

Check your voter registration status here.

To vote in Delaware, an individual must meet the following requirements:

• The individual must be a United States citizen.
• The individual must be a resident of Delaware.
• The individual must be 18 years of age by Election Day.
• The individual must be mentally competent.
• The individual must not be under a felony sentence or convicted of a disqualifying felony.

According to the Delaware Department of Elections, "The voter registration deadline is the 4th Saturday before a Primary and General Election. Voter registration applications submitted via the voter portal, ivote.de.gov, by the deadline, or received by mail by the Department and postmarked by the deadline, will be considered to be submitted by the deadline."

Automatic registration

Delaware practices automatic voter registration through Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) locations and website. Individuals that complete an in-person or online application for a drivers license, learners permit, or identification card, or completes an in-person or online application to change their name or address on these documents, are atumatically registerd to vote. An individual whose eligibility and citizenship status have been confirmed by the DMV is also automatically registered.

According to the Department of Election's website, voters that are automatically registered are mailed a "“Notice of Automatic Voter Registration”, which includes a “Response to Automatic Voter Registration” form. AVR voters may use the form to update their voter registration, choose a party affiliation, or cancel their voter registration."

Online registration

See also: Online voter registration

Delaware has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.

Same-day registration

Delaware does not allow same-day voter registration.

Residency requirements

To register to vote in Delaware, you must be a resident of the state. State law does not specify a length of time for which you must have been a resident to be eligible.

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

Delaware does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual must attest that they are a U.S. citizen when registering to vote. According to the state's voter registration application, "if you register to vote even though you know you are not eligible, you can be fined between $50.00 - $200.00 or imprisoned for 30 days to two years, or both."

All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. As of November 2024, five states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, and New Hampshire — had passed laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration. However, only two of those states' laws were in effect, in Arizona and New Hampshire. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allowed noncitizens to vote in some local elections as of November 2024. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.

Verifying your registration

The state's voter portal allows residents to check their voter registration status online.

Voter ID requirements

Delaware requires voters to present non-photo identification while voting.

As of July 2024, the state website said:

“

When arriving at a polling place, a poll worker will ask you for proof of identity. A photo ID is not required. Examples of acceptable IDs: Delaware Driver’s License Delaware Identification Card U.S. Passport Signed Polling Place card Signed Social Security card Signed vehicle registration Signed credit card with photo ... When arriving at an Early Voting Site, a poll worker will ask you for proof of identity. A photo ID is not required. Permitted forms of identification include current: Valid Photo ID Copy of utility bill Bank statement Government check, paycheck, or other government document that displays your address

”

Voters who do not present proof of identity can "sign an affidavit of affirmation that the voter is the person listed on the election district record," according to Delaware Code.

Early voting

Delaware permits early voting. Learn more by visiting this website.

On June 28, 2024, the Delaware Supreme Court struck down a ruling from the Delaware Superior Court and reinstated early voting in the state. In a 5-0 decision, the court ruled that plaintiffs failed to prove that they would be harmed by laws permitting early voting, and therefore had no standing to sue. The decision, therefore, did not rule on the lower court's determination that early voting was prohibited by the Delaware Constitution. The court agreed to hear the case on an expedited basis to provide clarity to voters and election administrators before the November election. To read more about this case, see here.

Early voting permits citizens to cast ballots in person at a polling place prior to an election. In states that permit no-excuse early voting, a voter does not have to provide an excuse for being unable to vote on Election Day. States that allow voters to cast no-excuse absentee/mail-in ballots in person are counted as no-excuse early voting states.

As of February 2024, 47 states and the District of Columbia permitted no-excuse early voting.

Absentee voting

The deadline for eligible voters to request an absentee/mail-in ballot is no later than four days before an election.

According to the state's absentee/mail-in ballot application, an individual is eligible for any of the following reasons:

“

I am in public service of the United States (U.S.) or the State of Delaware, or I am a citizen of the U.S. temporarily residing outside the territorial limits of the U.S. and the District of Columbia, or such person’s spouse or dependent when residing with or accompanying such person, or absent from this State because of illness or injury while serving the armed forces of the U.S. I am in the armed forces of the U.S. or the merchant marine of the US., or attached to and serving with the armed forces of the U.S. in the American Red Cross or United Service Organizations. Due to the nature of my business or occupation. This reason includes: the business or occupaton of providing care to my parent, spouse, or child who is living at home and requires constant care due to illness, disability, or injury; students; and otherwise eligible persons who are incarcerated. I am sick or physically disabled (temporarily or permanently). I am absent from the district while on vacation. I am unable to vote at a certain Ɵme or on a certain day due to the tenets or teachings of my religion. I am otherwise authorized pursuant to the Federal Uniformed and Overseas Citzens Absentee Voting Act to vote by absentee ballot. I am otherwise authorized by federal law to vote by absentee ballot.

”

Certain of these voters are eligible for a permanent absentee/mail-in voting status and may request to be added to the permanent list on their ballot application.

On October 7, 2022, the Delaware Supreme Court struck down a state law allowing any registered voter to vote by absentee/mail-in ballot.

On eligibility, Article V, Section 4A, of the Delaware Constitution reads:

“

The General Assembly shall enact general laws providing that any qualified elector of this State, duly registered, who shall be unable to appear to cast his or her ballot at any general election at the regular polling place of the election district in which he or she is registered, either because of being in the public service of the United States or of this State, or his or her spouse or dependents when residing with or accompanying him or her because of the nature of his or her business or occupation, because of his or her sickness or physical disability, because of his or her absence from the district while on vacation, or because of the tenets or teachings of his or her religion, may cast a ballot at such general election to be counted in such election district.

”

Voter guides

2020 State Cannabis Voter Guides

See also

• Delaware House of Representatives
• Delaware State Legislature
• State legislative elections, 2020

External links

Suggest a link

• Delaware State Legislature

Footnotes

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Current members of the Delaware House of Representatives

Leadership

Majority Leader:Melissa Minor-Brown

Representatives

District 1

Nnamdi Chukwuocha (D)

District 2

Stephanie Bolden (D)

District 3

Josue Ortega (D)

District 4

Jeff Hilovsky (R)

District 5

Kendra Johnson (D)

District 6

Debra Heffernan (D)

District 7

Larry Lambert (D)

District 8

Sherae'a Moore (D)

District 9

Kevin Hensley (R)

District 10

Melanie Ross Levin (D)

District 11

Jeffrey Spiegelman (R)

District 12

Krista Griffith (D)

District 13

DeShanna Neal (D)

District 14

Claire Snyder-Hall (D)

District 15

Kamela Smith (D)

District 16

Franklin Cooke (D)

District 17

Melissa Minor-Brown (D)

District 18

Sophie Phillips (D)

District 19

Kimberly Williams (D)

District 20

Stell Selby (D)

District 21

Frank Burns (D)

District 22

Michael Smith (R)

District 23

Mara Gorman (D)

District 24

Edward Osienski (D)

District 25

Cyndie Romer (D)

District 26

Madinah Wilson-Anton (D)

District 27

Eric Morrison (D)

District 28

William Carson (D)

District 29

William Bush (D)

District 30

Shannon Morris (R)

District 31

Sean Lynn (D)

District 32

Kerri Harris (D)

District 33

Charles Postles (R)

District 34

Lyndon Dean Yearick (R)

District 35

Jesse Vanderwende (R)

District 36

Bryan Shupe (R)

District 37

Valerie Jones Giltner (R)

District 38

Ronald Gray (R)

District 39

Daniel Short (R)

District 40

Timothy Dukes (R)

District 41

Richard Collins (R)

Democratic Party (27)

Republican Party (14)