ACLU-DE Statement on LWV Ballot Deadline Lawsuit Ruling

WILMINGTON, Del. — Earlier today, Vice Chancellor Glasscock handed down an opinion in the case brought by the League of Women Voters of Delaware seeking to extend the ballot deadline for mail-in ballots in the November 3, 2020 general election. The LWV lawsuit raised the concern that the dramatic expansion of mail voting combined with widely reported postal service delays would result in thousands of votes going uncounted in the General Election because they did not arrive by the current deadline of 8 p.m. on Election Day.

The Court held that while the plaintiffs’ concerns regarding USPS delays and votes going uncounted were not frivolous, the threat of disenfranchisement was too speculative at this juncture to warrant relief.

“Voting is our most fundamental right and the ACLU of Delaware will always fight to protect and expand that right,” said Karen Lantz, Legal and Policy Director of the ACLU of Delaware, “We are disappointed in the Court’s ruling and will be discussing next steps with our clients, but no matter what happens next, we won’t stop fighting to protect the vote in Delaware.”

The Plaintiffs and the ACLU of Delaware are grateful to David Fry of Shaw Keller LLP for ably leading this action.

This press statement can be found online here: https://www.aclu-de.org/en/news/our-statement-courts-ruling-our-ballot-deadline-lawsuit

A copy of Vice Chancellor Glasscock’s opinion can be found online here: https://www.aclu-de.org/sites/default/files/field_documents/2020.10.09_opinion.pdf

The original press release and complaint can be found here: https://www.aclu-de.org/en/cases/lwv-delaware-v-dept-elections