10 FACTS About Delaware Elections' Security & Transparency 2026

1. Delaware Conducts Fair and Impartial Elections

The State of Delaware Department of Elections is the primary agency charged with administration of Delaware laws on voting. By code, Department employees cannot take an active role in any electoral contest, nor may Department employees run for office. In addition to rigorous adherence to an impartial approach in these efforts, numerous code provisions specify that Department employees or poll workers of different parties collaborate on potentially sensitive aspects of election administration. Delaware's Board of Elections is statutorily required to be a bipartisan body. The Department also collaborates with legislators from both parties seeking to enhance the provisions of existing state law to clarify procedures and policies undertaken to carry out provisions of current law, and to address potential ambiguity or uncertainty that can arise during election administration due to a lack of sufficient detail in Delaware Code as currently promulgated.

2. Delaware's Election Results' Audit Process is Transparent, Comprehensive, Timely, and Accurate

Delaware law currently mandates post-elections audits entailing hand counts of paper ballots from randomly selected voting machines, election districts, and offices. The Department selects the audit subjects at public meetings, before each election. The Department is also working actively with the vendor of Delaware' s voting machines to expand the machine-by-machine reporting on and after an election day, to track issues that arise. The issues that may be trackable and loggable in this manner would include printing issues, ballot spoiling by voters, and power fluctuations. The Department is actively engaged with legislators sponsoring legislation that will clarify, codify, and strengthen all aspects of audit-related Code provisions currently in code. SB266 in the current 153rd General Assembly's legislative session has been passed by the State Senate and is on the State House's Ready List. A vote in the House on SB266 is expected next week (week of June 15th).

3. Delaware's Task Force on Free, Fair & Secure Elections Prepares, Plans, and Executes Election Security Measures

On April 22, 2026, Delaware Governor Matt Meyer signed an executive order expanding Delaware's existing Elections Security Group (ESG). The Task Force is comprised of invested and integral state and federal agencies committed to protecting voters and election workers and securing the entire voting and elections process from threats, intimidation, and interference, whether it be cyber or physical, real or artificial. Combating misinformation and disinformation is a core function of the task force. The group conducts its business in the context of a public meeting to keep the public informed of election security concerns and how Delaware is ensuring election integrity and safety.

4. Delaware Protects Department of Elections Staff, Board of Elections members, Election Officers (poll workers), and their Families from Threats & Intimidation

The Department is an integral partner in the state's Election Security Group that brings together state and federal partners committed to protecting all involved in the election administration process. The Department collaborates with the Delaware Department of Justice in advance of elections to ensure that appropriate and non-disruptive law enforcement personnel are ready to respond to any incidents that arise. The Department identifies specific security improvements annually as part of the Department's budget requests. The Department is open to collaboration with any Delaware legislators proposing efforts to strengthen election protection provisions in Delaware law. Under existing law, it is a class G felony to do any of the following actions on a day of election or early in-person voting or during the reading and counting of ballots with the intent to impede or interfere with the election: (1) The use of any violence or threats of violence at or near a polling place, a Department of Elections office, a meeting of the Board of Canvass, or any other place where votes are cast, stored, read, or counted; (2) A breach of peace at or near the same places; and (3) Hindering, controlling, coercing, or intimidating or attempting to hinder, control, coerce, or intimidate any qualified elector from exercising their right to vote.

5. Delaware's Department of Elections Safeguards Public Trust, Integrity, & Transparency in Delaware's Electoral Process

The Department is committed to sharing information with the public via as many means as possible, including through our website, through attendance at state fairs and other public functions, Department public meetings, and through regular “meet and greets” in our offices throughout the state. On a more substantive level, the Department actively engages with public interest groups that have an interest in election processes, such as the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) and the National Association of State Election Directors (NASED) to ensure that we maintain best practices in our election administration.

6. Delaware's Reapportionment/Redistricting Process is Conducted by Delaware's General Assembly, not the Delaware Department of Elections

The Delaware Department of Elections is not involved in the redistricting process directly but provides technical support to the process in a fully non-partisan manner, and plans to continue to do so as the state approaches the next decennial reapportionment process.

7. Delaware's Ballots of Record are Paper and are Secured through Strict Chain of Custody Protocols

The state's official ballots of record are machine-marked paper ballots, which are reviewed by voters before they are cast. These ballots are the subject of post-election audits of randomly selected voting machines, election districts, and offices conducting via physical hand counts. The Department routinely reviews and updates its chain of custody policies and practices to ensure consistency and reliability. We have invested in third party training on these topics for our personnel. Delaware's voting devices provide the opportunity for voters to review a paper version of their completed ballot, and the procedure allows voters to void that ballot if incorrect. The existing audit procedures require that the paper ballots be counted to confirm the votes match the totals from the device's tabulations.

8. Delaware's Department of Elections Provides Multiple, Accessible Voting Options from which Delaware Voters May Choose to Vote

Delaware offers three voting options: absentee voting for voters who apply for an absentee ballot marking a reason stated in Code for needing to vote by absentee ballot, early voting at an early voting site during the early voting period, and election day voting at voters' assigned polling places on election day. The Department of Elections is committed to ensuring an efficient, safe, secure, fair and accessible voting process for all Delaware voters, no matter which voting option they choose.

9. Delaware Law Provides that Voters are Asked to Present Identification.

Per Delaware law, election officers must ask Delaware voters to show one form of identification showing their name and current Delaware address when they vote in person. The list of acceptable forms of ID is non-exhaustive, and voters only need to show one item. The list includes a Delaware driver's license or State identification card, a mailing from the Department of Elections (for example, a voter's polling place card), a current utility bill, bank statement, lease or deed, vehicle registration/title, government mailings, or other government documentation. If Delaware voters do not have identification when they arrive to vote, and they are at an Early Voting Site for the county in which you live during the Early Voting period or their assigned polling place on General Election Day, and are registered to vote, election officers will verify their voter registration information. When the voter's voter registration is confirmed, they will be asked to complete an Affidavit of Affirmation of Voter Identity, a form prescribed in Title 15 of the Delaware Code, to document the affirmation of their identity, and that they are a duly registered, eligible Delaware voter. Once the voter has completed the voter identification or voter identification affirmation process, they will continue with the next steps of the voting process.

10. Delaware's Voter Data is Secure and Protected from Unlawful Disclosure

The State of Delaware has refused to provide access to sensitive voter information in response to requests by the U.S. Department of Justice and is currently a party of litigation initiated by the federal government regarding this matter and would similarly litigate against any effort to unlawfully disenfranchise voters ahead of or during the 2026 election.