Election Denial in Delaware
0 Election Deniers currently hold statewide office with election oversight power.
0 Election Deniers are on the ballot for statewide office.
0 Election Deniers have held, or run for, statewide office since 2020.
0 Election Deniers are sitting members of Congress.
0 Election Deniers are on the ballot for Congress in November.
The landscape in Delaware
Delaware is a model state for upholding free and fair elections.
None of the statewide officials who oversee voting in the state is an Election Denier—and no Election Deniers were even on the ballot in the primary or general elections. Delaware is unusual in that its Secretary of State is not the top election official. That responsibility falls to the state Commissioner of Elections, who is not an Election Denier.
Delaware legislators also have not introduced any bills since 2020 that would politicize, criminalize, or interfere with election administration, according to our tracker.
0 Election Deniers hold statewide Office right now.
Elections are run by the states. In Delaware, the Governor, Attorney General, and state commissioner of elections are the state officials responsible for overseeing elections. In most states, the Secretary of State is the chief election official. Delaware is an exception: The state commissioner of elections holds that responsibility. It’s up to all of them to make sure the will of the people is always respected.
Read more about The Roles of Our Elected Officials in Elections
No candidates match the selected filters.
0 Election Deniers are on statewide Ballots in races we're tracking.
Delaware has a race in 2024 for at least one of the statewide offices that oversee elections. Here are the candidates.
Read more about The Roles of Our Elected Officials in Elections
No candidates match the selected filters.
0 Election Deniers are sitting members of congress right now.
Election Deniers make up 0 percent of Delaware’s 3-member Congressional delegation. Members of Congress have a public platform to build up or tear down trust in our elections. And they have concrete responsibilities, too, such as determining federal funding for elections.
Read more about The Roles of Our Elected Officials in Elections
No candidates match the selected filters.
0 Election Deniers are on the ballot for Congress in November in races we're tracking.
Here are the Election Deniers running in 2024 to represent Delaware in the House or Senate who are advancing to November. Remember: For members of Congress elected this year, one of their first responsibilities will be voting on whether to certify the 2024 Presidential election.
Note: We are only tracking Election Deniers who have won their primaries and are advancing to the November general election. We are not tracking all Election Denier candidates ahead of state primaries. Click here to view Election Deniers who already hold seats in Congress right now.
Read more about The Roles of Our Elected Officials in Elections
No candidates match the selected filters.
How Delaware compares
Every state runs its own elections, with its own laws and processes. Check out how Delaware compares with other states in its region when it comes to Election Deniers holding state election administration jobs.
Election Denial in Mideast States
State Commissioner of Elections | Moreinformation about Delaware | ||||||
State Elections Board | Moreinformation about District of Columbia | ||||||
State Elections Board | Moreinformation about Maryland | ||||||
Moreinformation about New Jersey | |||||||
State Elections Board | Moreinformation about New York | ||||||
Moreinformation about Pennsylvania |
Sitting official is an Election Denier
- In Delaware, the Governor appoints the State Commissioner of Elections.
- In Washington, D.C., the Executive Director is appointed by the District of Columbia Board of Elections.
- In Maryland, the Administrator of Elections is appointed by the Maryland State Board of Elections.
- In New Jersey, the Governor appoints the Secretary of State.
- In New York, the Co-Executive Directors are appointed by the New York State Board of Elections.
- In Pennsylvania, the Governor appoints the Secretary of the Commonwealth.
Election Denial in Ongoing Races
0 | 0 State Commissioner of Elections | Moreinformation about Delaware | |||
1 | 1 | 0 | Moreinformation about Indiana | ||
0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Moreinformation about Missouri | |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Moreinformation about Montana | |
0 | 0 | Moreinformation about New Hampshire | |||
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 State Elections Board | Moreinformation about North Carolina | |
1 | 0 | Moreinformation about North Dakota | |||
0 | 1 | 0 | Moreinformation about Oregon | ||
0 | 0 | Moreinformation about Pennsylvania | |||
1 | 0 | 0 Lieutenant Governor | Moreinformation about Utah | ||
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Moreinformation about Vermont | |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Moreinformation about Washington | |
2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Moreinformation about West Virginia |
States are colored by the number of Election Deniers running for office:
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0 Election Deniers have held, or have run for, statewide Office since 2020.
Even one Election Denier with election oversight power is a threat to the will of the people. Here are the Election Deniers who have sought control over Delaware elections in recent years.
No candidates match the selected filters.
Voter turnout over time
Voters are always the backstop against election denial, whether Election Deniers are already in office or vying for power. It’s important to turn out for every election in your state—and to vote in every race on your ballot. Downballot races, like contests for Attorney General and Secretary of State, have historically drawn fewer voters, even though the positions are critical to keeping elections free, fair, and secure. Here’s a look at voter participation in Delaware elections over time. Notice that in years with several important positions up for election, some voters choose not to vote in every race.
Data on the number of votes cast in each race are from state elections depositories, supplemented with data from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC), House Election Statistics, and The Book of States. Rates are calculated using the Census’s Citizen Voting Age Population (CVAP) estimates.
Beyond the ballot box
Each year, state legislators introduce thousands of bills related to elections. And in the past few years, we’ve identified a concerning trend. Across the country, state legislatures are considering bills that would make it easier for partisan actors to manipulate an election, and maybe even overturn the will of the people. We’re tracking these bills along with our partners in an ongoing series of reports called “A Democracy Crisis in the Making.” All told, in the 2023 legislative cycle, we identified 196 bills that were introduced in 39 states that would interfere with election administration. Ultimately, 21 of those bills became law across 15 states, while 7 bills were vetoed across 2 states.
The anti-democracy playbook is simple: change the rules and change the referees, in order to change the results. These bills go hand-in-hand with the Election Denier movement: They’re about taking power away from voters and making it harder for trusted election officials to do their jobs.