Delaware 152nd General Assembly (2023-2024) Status: In Committee Bipartisan · 8 R · 4 D cosponsors

HB 344 — AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 15 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO ELECTIONS.

Last action — Introduced and Assigned to Administration Committee in House

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

This bill died with 152nd General Assembly (2023-2024). It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.

This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there are no live odds of enactment. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.

Summary

This bill seeks to correct a current bias in Delaware’s election law impacting the outcome of countless races throughout the state. Numerous academic analyses have concluded that there is a considerable benefit to a candidate’s name appearing first on the ballot. In one noteworthy legal proceeding on ballot position bias, the California Supreme Court held that “a significant advantage accrues to a candidate by virtue of a top ballot position.” The High Court further concluded that without incumbents running, approximately 5% of a candidate’s vote share could be attributed to their position on the ballot. California took action in 1975 to eliminate this flaw by randomizing the listing of candidates on its ballots. The Golden State uses a system where a randomized drawing of letters of the alphabet is conducted, with the resulting order of letters constituting a "randomized alphabet" that is used for determining the order of candidates' names on the ballot. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 15 states have enacted reforms to deal with ballot position bias. Delaware law currently mandates that one political party always appear in the first column on the machine ballots or on the first line of absentee ballots. This bill proposes eradicating ballot position inequity by adopting a randomized system modeled after the one successfully employed in California for nearly five decades.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. Introduced and Assigned to Administration Committee in House

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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13 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 49 not signed on

Sponsors (13)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (49)

49 members have not signed on to this bill.

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"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.

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Subjects

elections
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Frequently asked questions

What does HB 344 do?
This bill seeks to correct a current bias in Delaware’s election law impacting the outcome of countless races throughout the state. Numerous academic analyses have concluded that there is a considerable benefit to a candidate’s name appearing first on the ballot. In one noteworthy legal proceeding on ballot position bias, the California Supreme Court held that “a significant advantage accrues to a candidate by virtue of a top ballot position.” The High Court further concluded that without incumbents running, approximately 5% of a candidate’s vote share could be attributed to their position on the ballot. California took action in 1975 to eliminate this flaw by randomizing the listing of candidates on its ballots. The Golden State uses a system where a randomized drawing of letters of the alphabet is conducted, with the resulting order of letters constituting a "randomized alphabet" that is used for determining the order of candidates' names on the ballot. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 15 states have enacted reforms to deal with ballot position bias. Delaware law currently mandates that one political party always appear in the first column on the machine ballots or on the first line of absentee ballots. This bill proposes eradicating ballot position inequity by adopting a randomized system modeled after the one successfully employed in California for nearly five decades.
Who sponsors HB 344?
HB 344 is sponsored by Lyndon D. Yearick (Republican), Jesse R. Vanderwende (Republican), Bryan Townsend (Democratic), Michael F. Smith (Republican), Daniel B. Short (Republican), Shannon Morris (Republican), Laura V. Sturgeon (Democratic), John "Jack" Walsh (Democratic), Ronald E. Gray (Republican), Timothy D. Dukes (Republican), Richard G. Collins (Republican), Franklin D. Cooke (Democratic), and Michael Ramone.
What is the current status of HB 344?
This bill died with 152nd General Assembly (2023-2024). It reached “In Committee” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
Where can I track HB 344?
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