Bill Text: DE HB155 | 2015-2016 | 148th General Assembly | Draft
Bill Title: An Act To Amend Title 14 Of The Delaware Code Relating To Qualifications Of Voters.
Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Republican 12-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-05-28 - Introduced and Assigned to Education Committee in House [HB155 Detail]
Download: Delaware-2015-HB155-Draft.html
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SPONSOR: |
Rep. Miro & Sen. Bonini; |
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Reps. D. Short, Hensley, Outten, Peterman, Ramone, Wilson; Sens. Hocker, Lavelle, Peterson, Pettyjohn, Simpson |
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 148th GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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HOUSE BILL NO. 155 |
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AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO QUALIFICATIONS OF VOTERS. |
Section 1.Amend §§1077, 1078, 1081 and 1082, Title 14 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:
§ 1077. Qualified voters.
Every
citizen 18 years of age or over and a resident of the reorganized school
district shall be eligible to vote at the school election in the reorganized
school district in which that citizen resides, whether or not that citizen is
at the time a registered voter for purposes of a general election.
Only persons registered to vote pursuant to the provisions of Part II of Title 15 shall be permitted to vote at the school election in the school district in which that person resides.
§1078. Determination of qualifications of the voter.
For
the purpose of determining whether a person offering to vote at a school
election is in fact the person he or she claims to be and is qualified to vote,
that individual shall complete an affidavit, promulgated by the Commissioner of
Elections, which shall affirm that the individual offering to vote is a
qualified voter of the school district pursuant to §1077 of this title. If it
can be determined by a majority opinion of the inspector and both judges
assigned to that polling place that the individual offering to vote has met the
qualifications for that school election pursuant §1077 of this title, then
said individual shall be permitted to vote. Otherwise, an election official
shall require the person offering to vote to produce reasonable identification
of himself or herself and their place of residence in the school district. The
said identification may be:
(1)
Delaware driver's license;
(2)
Delaware ID card;
(3)
Work ID card with photo and address; or
(4)
U.S. postal material.
If
a vote is objected to for the reason that the person offering to vote is not
qualified to vote in that school election, its admission or rejection shall be
determined according to the opinion of a majority of the inspector and both
judges assigned to that polling place.
§1078.Applicability of Title 15 procedures
Procedures for determining qualifications of voters at polling places shall be consistent with those in Title 15 for the general election.
(a)
The Commissioner of Elections, in consultation with the county Departments of
Elections, shall promulgate a Voter Eligibility Affidavit for Public School
Elections that all voters in public school elections shall complete before
voting. The aforesaid affidavit shall be printed as a 1-part form. The
Commissioner of Elections and the county Departments of Elections shall at
least once every 2 years meet to review the Voter Eligibility Affidavit for
Public School Elections. Upon approval of a new version of the affidavit,
existing supplies of affidavits shall be used until exhausted.
(b)
As soon as possible after the close of a public school election the Department
of Elections conducting the election shall check for persons who voted more
than once by putting the completed Voter Eligibility Affidavits for Public
School Elections into alphabetic order. The department shall refer any
instances of persons voting more than once in a public school election to the
Attorney General.
(c)
The Department of Elections conducting the election shall make the affidavits
available to the respective school district upon request and at no cost. The
Department may satisfy this requirement by providing a copy of the affidavits
to the school district. School districts that receive affidavits from a
department shall return them to the Department no later than 90 days after
receiving them.
(d)
The affidavits and all other records of a public school election shall be
retained for 5 years and then destroyed.
§1082. Procedure at the polling place.
(a)
Upon arriving at a polling place, a person shall complete a Voter Eligibility
Affidavit for Public School Elections attesting to the voter's eligibility to
vote in the public school election and then present the aforesaid affidavit and
proof of the voter's identity and address as required in §1078 of this title
to an election officer.
(b)
Upon being presented an affidavit and proof of the voter's identity by a
person, the election officer shall then legibly print the name of the person
onto a poll list, determine whether or not the person is eligible to vote in
the election, and then annotate the affidavit as to whether or not the person
shall be permitted to vote. If the person does not offer reasonable proof of
identity and address as required in this section, the person may be permitted
to vote by majority vote of the inspector and both judges. Poll lists created
as required above shall be retained by the Department of Elections that
conducted the election for 1 year following the day of the election. At the end
of the aforesaid year, the poll lists shall be destroyed.
(c)
If the election officer determines that the person is not eligible to vote in
the election, the election officer shall refer the person to the inspector and
both judges. The inspector and both judges after hearing and considering
evidence shall by majority vote determine whether or not to permit the person
to vote. Upon making the decision, the inspector shall appropriately annotate
the affidavit and poll list. If the person is not permitted to vote, the
inspector shall direct the person to depart the polling place and then the
inspector shall file the affidavit in the appropriate place.
(d)
If a person's eligibility to vote is challenged by anyone for any reason, the
inspector and both judges shall immediately hear and consider the evidence and
then by majority vote decide whether or not the person is eligible to vote.
Once the inspector and both judges have made their decision, there is no appeal
at the polling place. The person shall either be permitted to vote, or shall
not be permitted to vote and directed to depart the polling place. A person who
has not been permitted to vote may appeal the decision of the inspector and
both judges to the administrative director or, in the administrative director's
absence, to the deputy administrative director for the Department of Elections
conducting the election.
(e)
Upon hearing the evidence of an appeal by a voter, the administrative director
or deputy administrative director for the Department of Elections conducting
the election shall rule on the appeal. A person whose appeal is successful
shall be permitted to vote at the polling place or by absentee ballot at the
Department of Elections conducting the election.
SYNOPSIS
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This Act requires that those voting in school board elections and school tax elections and school bond elections be registered voters eligible to vote in general elections.Currently, any resident of the school district is eligible to vote in school elections. |
