AN ACT PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE V OF THE DELAWARE CONSTITUTION RELATING TO VOTING.
Families of individuals with felony convictions may benefit from re-enfranchisement, allowing them to participate in elections.
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HB 180 — AN ACT PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE V OF THE DELAWARE CONSTITUTION RELATING TO VOTING.
Last action — Passed By Senate. Votes: 16 YES 5 NO
No card. One bill, free forever — alerts when it moves.
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✓Introduced
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✓In Committee
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3Passed House
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4Passed Senate
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5To Executive
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6Enacted
This bill has passed the House. Introduced May 08, 2025. It now moves to the second chamber.
Next likely step: consideration and a floor vote in the Senate.
Prognosis
Where this bill stands today.
Odds of enactment
ModerateHow often bills like it became law.
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Passed House
Current position in the legislative process.
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22 sponsors
22 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.
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Bipartisan support
Sponsored across 2 parties (20 D · 1 R) — cross-party backing.
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Cleared a recorded vote
Passed 2 recorded votes so far.
Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.
In plain language
This bill updates voting rights in Delaware for individuals with felony convictions.
The bill amends the Delaware Constitution to limit the loss of voting rights for felons to their time in prison and prohibits restrictions based on financial obligations. It also removes literacy tests and residency requirements for voting.
What this means for you
- Workers: This means workers with felony convictions can regain their voting rights easier, fostering greater civic engagement.
- Families: Families of individuals with felony convictions may benefit from re-enfranchisement, allowing them to participate in elections.
Summary
This Act is the first leg of an amendment to the Delaware Constitution that does all of the following: (1) Under Section 1 of this Act, limits the loss of the right to vote of an individual who is convicted of a felony to the period during which the individual is imprisoned due to the felony, or until the individual is pardoned, whichever comes first. (2) Brings Section 1 of this Act into conformity with the United States Constitution and federal law. Section 1 of this Act specifically does all of the following: (1) Removes the ability of the General Assembly to impose the forfeiture of the right of suffrage as a punishment for a crime. (2) Removes the list of felonies resulting in permanent removal of the right to vote. (3) Prohibits making the re-enfranchisement of an individual who is convicted of a felony contingent on the payment of a monetary payment of any kind. (4) Defines terms related to imprisonment and community supervision. (5) Updates the age at which a resident of this State is granted a right to vote to be 18 years or older, to conform the Delaware Constitution to the 26th Amendment to the United States Constitution. (6) Removes the durational residency requirements necessary to qualify to vote in this State. Durational residency requirements have been found unconstitutional because these requirements infringe on both the constitutional right to vote and the constitutional right to travel. See Dunn v. Blumstein, 92 S. Ct. 995 (1972) (finding 1-year residency requirement in a state and 3-month residency requirement in a county unconstitutional) and Marston v. Lewis, 93 S. Ct. 1211 (1973). A voter will still be required to be a resident at the time the voter registers. (7) Removes the literacy test requirement to qualify to vote in this State. Literacy tests have been used to disqualify Blacks and individuals who are immigrants or poor. Because of the discriminatory use of, and often subjective nature of, literacy tests, literacy tests are prohibited under federal law, see 52 U.S.C. § 10501, and likely unconstitutional under the 14th or 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution, see Oregon v. Mitchell, 91 S. Ct. 260 (1970). Section 2 of this Act removes the suspension of the right to vote as a punishment for violation of certain election offenses. Amending the Delaware Constitution requires not only the passing of the changes in this Act, but also passage of the same changes after the next general election by the next General Assembly. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article XVI of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to amend the Delaware Constitution.
Bill Text
- Bill Text View text Current pdf
Action History
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Passed By Senate. Votes: 16 YES 5 NO
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Lifted From Table in Senate
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Laid On Table in Senate
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Reported Out of Committee (Executive) in Senate with 4 Favorable, 1 On Its Merits
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Reported Out of Committee (Executive) in Senate with 4 Favorable, 1 On Its Merits
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Assigned to Executive Committee in Senate
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Passed By House. Votes: 30 YES 10 NO 1 ABSENT
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Reported Out of Committee (Administration) in House with 3 On Its Merits
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Introduced and Assigned to Administration Committee in House
Sponsors
- Laura V. Sturgeon · Primary
- Bryan Townsend · Primary
- David P. Sokola · Primary
- Madinah Wilson-Anton · Primary
- Edward S. Osienski · Primary
- Cyndie Romer · Primary
- Josue O Ortega · Primary
- Marie Pinkney · Primary
- Eric Morrison · Primary
- Trey Paradee · Primary
- Sean M. Lynn · Primary
- Spiros Mantzavinos · Primary
- Ray Seigfried · Primary
- Nicole Poore · Primary
- Mara Gorman · Primary
- William Bush · Primary
- Bryant L. Richardson · Primary
- Darius J. Brown · Primary
- Claire Snyder-Hall · Primary
- Kerri Evelyn Harris · Primary
- Melanie Ross Levin · Primary
- Sarah McBride · Primary
Sponsorship breakdown
Export CSV (upgrade) →22 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 40 not signed on · 14 voted No
Sponsors (22)
- Laura V. Sturgeon Democratic
- Bryan Townsend Democratic
- David P. Sokola Democratic
- Madinah Wilson-Anton Democratic
- Edward S. Osienski Democratic
- Cyndie Romer Democratic
- Josue O Ortega Democratic
- Marie Pinkney Democratic
- Eric Morrison Democratic
- Trey Paradee Democratic
- Sean M. Lynn Democratic
- Spiros Mantzavinos Democratic
- Ray Seigfried Democratic
- Nicole Poore Democratic
- Mara Gorman Democratic
- William Bush Democratic
- Bryant L. Richardson Republican Voted No
- Darius J. Brown Democratic
- Claire Snyder-Hall Democratic
- Kerri Evelyn Harris Democratic
- Melanie Ross Levin Democratic
- Sarah McBride
Co-sponsors (0)
None.
Not signed on (40)
40 members have not signed on to this bill.
Show all 40 →"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.
Votes
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Republican | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 16 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| % of votes cast | 76% | 24% | 0% | 0% |
How each member voted (21)
| Member | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Bryan Townsend | Democratic | Yea |
| Daniel Cruce | Democratic | Yea |
| Darius J. Brown | Democratic | Yea |
| David P. Sokola | Democratic | Yea |
| John "Jack" Walsh | Democratic | Yea |
| Kyra L. Hoffner | Democratic | Yea |
| Laura V. Sturgeon | Democratic | Yea |
| Marie Pinkney | Democratic | Yea |
| Nicole Poore | Democratic | Yea |
| Ray Seigfried | Democratic | Yea |
| Russell Huxtable | Democratic | Yea |
| S. Elizabeth Lockman | Democratic | Yea |
| Spiros Mantzavinos | Democratic | Yea |
| Stephanie L. Hansen | Democratic | Yea |
| Trey Paradee | Democratic | Yea |
| Brian Pettyjohn | Republican | Nay |
| Bryant L. Richardson | Republican | Nay |
| Dave G. Lawson | Republican | Nay |
| David L. Wilson | Republican | Yea |
| Eric Buckson | Republican | Nay |
| Gerald W. Hocker | Republican | Nay |
| Party | Yea | Nay | Present | Not Voting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Republican | 3 | 10 | 0 | 1 |
| Total | 30 | 10 | 0 | 1 |
| % of votes cast | 73% | 24% | 0% | 2% |
How each member voted (41)
| Member | Party | Vote |
|---|---|---|
| Alonna Berry | Democratic | Yea |
| Claire Snyder-Hall | Democratic | Yea |
| Cyndie Romer | Democratic | Yea |
| DeShanna U Neal | Democratic | Yea |
| Debra Heffernan | Democratic | Yea |
| Edward S. Osienski | Democratic | Yea |
| Eric Morrison | Democratic | Yea |
| Frank Burns | Democratic | Yea |
| Franklin D. Cooke | Democratic | Yea |
| Josue O Ortega | Democratic | Yea |
| Kamela T Smith | Democratic | Yea |
| Kendra Johnson | Democratic | Yea |
| Kerri Evelyn Harris | Democratic | Yea |
| Kimberly Williams | Democratic | Yea |
| Krista Griffith | Democratic | Yea |
| Larry Lambert | Democratic | Yea |
| Madinah Wilson-Anton | Democratic | Yea |
| Mara Gorman | Democratic | Yea |
| Melanie Ross Levin | Democratic | Yea |
| Melissa Minor-Brown | Democratic | Yea |
| Nnamdi O. Chukwuocha | Democratic | Yea |
| Sean M. Lynn | Democratic | Yea |
| Sherae'a Moore | Democratic | Yea |
| Sophie Phillips | Democratic | Yea |
| Stephanie T. Bolden | Democratic | Yea |
| William Bush | Democratic | Yea |
| William J. Carson | Democratic | Yea |
| Bryan W. Shupe | Republican | Nay |
| Charles S Postles Jr. | Republican | Not Voting |
| Daniel B. Short | Republican | Nay |
| Jeff Hilovsky | Republican | Nay |
| Jeffrey N. Spiegelman | Republican | Yea |
| Jesse R. Vanderwende | Republican | Nay |
| Kevin S Hensley | Republican | Nay |
| Lyndon D. Yearick | Republican | Nay |
| Michael F. Smith | Republican | Yea |
| Richard G. Collins | Republican | Yea |
| Ronald E. Gray | Republican | Nay |
| Shannon Morris | Republican | Nay |
| Timothy D. Dukes | Republican | Nay |
| Valerie Jones Giltner | Republican | Nay |
Subjects
Frequently asked questions
- What does HB 180 do?
- This Act is the first leg of an amendment to the Delaware Constitution that does all of the following: (1) Under Section 1 of this Act, limits the loss of the right to vote of an individual who is convicted of a felony to the period during which the individual is imprisoned due to the felony, or until the individual is pardoned, whichever comes first. (2) Brings Section 1 of this Act into conformity with the United States Constitution and federal law. Section 1 of this Act specifically does all of the following: (1) Removes the ability of the General Assembly to impose the forfeiture of the right of suffrage as a punishment for a crime. (2) Removes the list of felonies resulting in permanent removal of the right to vote. (3) Prohibits making the re-enfranchisement of an individual who is convicted of a felony contingent on the payment of a monetary payment of any kind. (4) Defines terms related to imprisonment and community supervision. (5) Updates the age at which a resident of this State is granted a right to vote to be 18 years or older, to conform the Delaware Constitution to the 26th Amendment to the United States Constitution. (6) Removes the durational residency requirements necessary to qualify to vote in this State. Durational residency requirements have been found unconstitutional because these requirements infringe on both the constitutional right to vote and the constitutional right to travel. See Dunn v. Blumstein, 92 S. Ct. 995 (1972) (finding 1-year residency requirement in a state and 3-month residency requirement in a county unconstitutional) and Marston v. Lewis, 93 S. Ct. 1211 (1973). A voter will still be required to be a resident at the time the voter registers. (7) Removes the literacy test requirement to qualify to vote in this State. Literacy tests have been used to disqualify Blacks and individuals who are immigrants or poor. Because of the discriminatory use of, and often subjective nature of, literacy tests, literacy tests are prohibited under federal law, see 52 U.S.C. § 10501, and likely unconstitutional under the 14th or 15th Amendment to the United States Constitution, see Oregon v. Mitchell, 91 S. Ct. 260 (1970). Section 2 of this Act removes the suspension of the right to vote as a punishment for violation of certain election offenses. Amending the Delaware Constitution requires not only the passing of the changes in this Act, but also passage of the same changes after the next general election by the next General Assembly. This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article XVI of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to amend the Delaware Constitution.
- Who sponsors HB 180?
- HB 180 is sponsored by Laura V. Sturgeon (Democratic), Bryan Townsend (Democratic), David P. Sokola (Democratic), Madinah Wilson-Anton (Democratic), Edward S. Osienski (Democratic), Cyndie Romer (Democratic), Josue O Ortega (Democratic), Marie Pinkney (Democratic), Eric Morrison (Democratic), Trey Paradee (Democratic), Sean M. Lynn (Democratic), Spiros Mantzavinos (Democratic), Ray Seigfried (Democratic), Nicole Poore (Democratic), Mara Gorman (Democratic), William Bush (Democratic), Bryant L. Richardson (Republican), Darius J. Brown (Democratic), Claire Snyder-Hall (Democratic), Kerri Evelyn Harris (Democratic), Melanie Ross Levin (Democratic), and Sarah McBride.
- What is the current status of HB 180?
- This bill has passed the House. Introduced May 08, 2025. It now moves to the second chamber.
- Where can I track HB 180?
- Track HB 180 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.
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