Delaware 149th General Assembly (2017-2018) Status: Enacted Bipartisan · 4 R · 4 D cosponsors

HB 47 — AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 15 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO ABSENTEE VOTING.

Last action — Signed by Governor

  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. ✓
    Passed House
  4. ✓
    Passed Senate
  5. ✓
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced January 24, 2017. Enacted.

Odds of enactment

High chance

Based on the sponsor, cosponsors, and committee posture, this bill has a high chance of becoming law.

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A statistical estimate from our own model of past outcomes — an insight, not a guarantee. Policymaking is volatile.

Prognosis

Likely to advance 98% · high confidence

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 18 sponsors

    4 primary, 14 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (4 R · 4 D) — cross-party backing.

  • Cleared a recorded vote

    Passed 3 recorded votes so far.

Based on stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes, and cross-state momentum — a description of the observable signals, not a prediction.

Summary

This bill removes the notary requirement for requests for absentee ballots. Delaware is the only state that requires a notary to authorize a voter's affidavit for an absentee ballot. In some cases, the potential voter may have to pay for the notary and Delaware essentially charges them to vote.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Signed by Governor

  2. Passed By House. Votes: 39 YES 2 ABSENT

  3. Passed By Senate. Votes: 19 YES 2 ABSENT

  4. Amendment SA 1 to HB 47 - Passed By Senate. Votes: 19 YES 2 ABSENT

  5. Reported Out of Committee (Elections & Government Affairs) in Senate with 5 On Its Merits

  6. Assigned to Elections & Government Affairs Committee in Senate

  7. Passed By House. Votes: 37 YES 1 NOT VOTING 3 ABSENT

  8. Amendment HA 2 to HB 47 - Passed In House by Voice Vote

  9. Amendment HA 2 to HB 47 - Introduced and Placed With Bill

  10. Amendment HA 1 to HB 47 - Passed In House by Voice Vote

  11. Amendment HA 1 to HB 47 - Introduced and Placed With Bill

  12. Reported Out of Committee (House Administration) in House with 4 On Its Merits

  13. Introduced and Assigned to House Administration Committee in House

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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4 sponsors · 14 co-sponsors · 44 not signed on

Sponsors (4)

Co-sponsors (14)

Not signed on (44)

44 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 44 →

"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.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

SM

Passed 39 Yea · 0 Nay · 2 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 24001
Democratic 7000
Republican 8001
Total 39002
% of votes cast 95%0%0%5%
How each member voted (41)
Member Party Vote
Andria L. Bennett — Yea
Bryon H. Short — Yea
Charles Potter Jr. — Yea
David Bentz — Yea
Deborah Hudson — Not Voting
Earl G. Jaques Jr. — Yea
Gerald L. Brady — Yea
Harvey R. Kenton — Yea
Helene M. Keeley — Yea
James Johnson — Yea
John A. Kowalko — Yea
John J. Viola — Yea
John L. Mitchell — Yea
Joseph E. Miro — Yea
Melanie George Smith — Yea
Michael Mulrooney — Yea
Michael Ramone — Yea
Paul S. Baumbach — Yea
Peter C. Schwartzkopf — Yea
Quinton Johnson — Yea
Ruth Briggs King — Yea
Sean Matthews — Yea
Stephen Smyk — Yea
Valerie Longhurst — Yea
William R. Outten — Yea
Debra Heffernan Democratic Yea
Edward S. Osienski Democratic Yea
Kimberly Williams Democratic Yea
Sean M. Lynn Democratic Yea
Stephanie T. Bolden Democratic Yea
Trey Paradee Democratic Yea
William J. Carson Democratic Yea
Charles S Postles Jr. Republican Yea
Daniel B. Short Republican Not Voting
David L. Wilson Republican Yea
Jeffrey N. Spiegelman Republican Yea
Kevin S Hensley Republican Yea
Lyndon D. Yearick Republican Yea
Richard G. Collins Republican Yea
Ronald E. Gray Republican Yea
Timothy D. Dukes Republican Yea

Official roll call →

SM

Passed 19 Yea · 0 Nay · 2 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 12000
Democratic 4001
Republican 3001
Total 19002
% of votes cast 90%0%0%10%
How each member voted (21)
Member Party Vote
Anthony Delcollo — Yea
Brian J. Bushweller — Yea
Bruce C. Ennis — Yea
Catherine Cloutier — Yea
Colin Bonini — Yea
David B. McBride — Yea
Ernesto B Lopez — Yea
F. Gary Simpson — Yea
Gregory F. Lavelle — Yea
Harris B. McDowell — Yea
Margaret Rose Henry — Yea
Robert Marshall — Yea
Bryan Townsend Democratic Not Voting
David P. Sokola Democratic Yea
John "Jack" Walsh Democratic Yea
Nicole Poore Democratic Yea
Stephanie L. Hansen Democratic Yea
Brian Pettyjohn Republican Not Voting
Bryant L. Richardson Republican Yea
Dave G. Lawson Republican Yea
Gerald W. Hocker Republican Yea

Official roll call →

SM

Passed 37 Yea · 0 Nay · 4 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Unaffiliated 23002
Democratic 5002
Republican 9000
Total 37004
% of votes cast 90%0%0%10%
How each member voted (41)
Member Party Vote
Andria L. Bennett — Yea
Bryon H. Short — Yea
Charles Potter Jr. — Yea
David Bentz — Yea
Deborah Hudson — Not Voting
Earl G. Jaques Jr. — Yea
Gerald L. Brady — Yea
Harvey R. Kenton — Yea
Helene M. Keeley — Yea
James Johnson — Yea
John A. Kowalko — Yea
John J. Viola — Yea
John L. Mitchell — Yea
Joseph E. Miro — Yea
Melanie George Smith — Not Voting
Michael Mulrooney — Yea
Michael Ramone — Yea
Paul S. Baumbach — Yea
Peter C. Schwartzkopf — Yea
Quinton Johnson — Yea
Ruth Briggs King — Yea
Sean Matthews — Yea
Stephen Smyk — Yea
Valerie Longhurst — Yea
William R. Outten — Yea
Debra Heffernan Democratic Yea
Edward S. Osienski Democratic Yea
Kimberly Williams Democratic Yea
Sean M. Lynn Democratic Not Voting
Stephanie T. Bolden Democratic Not Voting
Trey Paradee Democratic Yea
William J. Carson Democratic Yea
Charles S Postles Jr. Republican Yea
Daniel B. Short Republican Yea
David L. Wilson Republican Yea
Jeffrey N. Spiegelman Republican Yea
Kevin S Hensley Republican Yea
Lyndon D. Yearick Republican Yea
Richard G. Collins Republican Yea
Ronald E. Gray Republican Yea
Timothy D. Dukes Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

civil-rights elections
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does HB 47 do?
This bill removes the notary requirement for requests for absentee ballots. Delaware is the only state that requires a notary to authorize a voter's affidavit for an absentee ballot. In some cases, the potential voter may have to pay for the notary and Delaware essentially charges them to vote.
Who sponsors HB 47?
HB 47 is sponsored by Lyndon D. Yearick (Republican), Brian Pettyjohn (Republican), Kimberly Williams (Democratic), John "Jack" Walsh (Democratic), Timothy D. Dukes (Republican), Debra Heffernan (Democratic), Trey Paradee (Democratic), Daniel B. Short (Republican), William R. Outten, Joseph E. Miro, John A. Kowalko, David Bentz, Paul S. Baumbach, F. Gary Simpson, Harris B. McDowell, Margaret Rose Henry, Bruce C. Ennis, and Brian J. Bushweller.
What is the current status of HB 47?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced January 24, 2017. Enacted.
Where can I track HB 47?
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