Delaware

Early voting deemed unconstitutional

Published

2 years ago

February 26, 2024

A Delaware Superior Court judge has stuck down the state’s early voting law for general elections, and also permanent absentee voting laws, saying they are unconstitutional.

The state’s early voting law, passed by the General Assembly and signed into law in 2019, goes against the Delaware Constitution that states “the general election shall be held biennially on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in the month of November,” wrote Superior Court Judge Mark H. Conner in his 25-page opinion.

Plaintiff Michael Mennella, an inspector for the Delaware Department of Elections, originally filed a Chancery Court complaint in 2022 against early voting, before the case was transferred to Superior Court in 2023, when Sen. Gerald Hocker, R-Ocean View, was added as a plaintiff.

“The court’s role – indeed, our duty – is to hold the challenged statutory enactments up to the light of our constitution and determine whether they are consonant or discordant with it. The enactments of the General Assembly challenged today are inconsistent with our constitution and therefore cannot stand,” Conner wrote.

In reviewing the law for permanent absentee voting, Conner used a grammatical analysis of the law to determine it is at odds with the constitution. The wording states a voter is allowed to participate in absentee voting at only the election at which they are unable to appear, he writes – a process not meant to be permanent.

“The use of the singular ‘a’ before the singular ‘ballot’ demonstrates that only one absentee ballot may be cast for any such general election at which the voter shall be unable to appear,” the opinion states.

Conner struck down a request to dismiss the case by defendant State Election Commissioner Anthony J. Albence and the state Department of Elections over claims that plaintiffs failed to transfer the cases from Chancery Court to Superior Court in a timely manner. He also states that a constitutional challenge to the permanent absentee voting statute passed in 2010 is not barred by the three-year statute of limitations set forth in Delaware code.

Jane Brady, a former Attorney General, Superior Court judge and previous head of the state GOP, who litigated the case said the decision only applies to general elections, not special elections or primaries.

“It is unfortunate that we will have different laws for the general election than for other elections, which may cause some voter confusion,” said Brady in a statement following the Superior Court opinion. “Previously, the General Assembly has been careful to comply with the constitution when they pass laws, but these laws clearly violate the constitution, as did the same-day registration and mail-in voting bills. We, therefore, have different rules for voting in different elections.”

Both Democrat gubernatorial candidates issued statements stating, if elected governor, they will fight for expanded voting rights through a constitutional amendment.

“The Delaware Superior Court’s decision to strike down early voting after already doing away with permanent mail-in voting is a blow to the foundational principles our country is built on,” said Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long.

Her opponent, New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer, blamed Republican extremists for the change.

“This decision undermines fundamental principles of democracy. It is the latest attempt by Republican extremists to restrict people’s access to the ballot box and create unnecessary obstacles for countless Delawareans, denying them their democratic rights,” he said.

Delaware Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester, who is running the U.S. Senate, also blamed Republicans for the attacking “access to the ballot” box, and she pledged to work for federal voting rights protections.

Brady, however, said no matter how people try to characterize the ruling, the court was careful to note this lawsuit was not about whether Delaware should have early voting, or permanent absentee status, any more than the previous lawsuit was about whether Delaware should have same-day registration or mail-in ballots.

“The question was do these laws comply with the constitution, and the answer is clearly ‘no,’” she said.

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Delaware

Thomas Jefferson University to run Delaware’s first medical school

Published

4 hours ago

June 3, 2026

Press Room

Thomas Jefferson University to run Delaware’s first medical school

Thomas Jefferson University is opening a regional campus of its Sidney Kimmel Medical College in Delaware, an effort that will result in the state’s first medical school.

Jefferson beat out three other bidders to establish the four-year program in partnership with the state. The other bidders were the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, the consulting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Ponce Health Sciences University in Puerto Rico, Spotlight Delaware reported.

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The inaugural class of 40 medical students will begin instruction in July 2028. Initially, the campus will be based at the University of Delaware in Newark, with Jefferson faculty providing instruction. A permanent home for the campus is still being finalized, the Inquirer reported.

The medical students will receive 18 months of preclinical training on campus before receiving clinical training from healthcare providers in Delaware’s southern counties, where the state’s physician shortage is most deeply felt. That shortage is compounded by an aging population, Delaware officials said.

“Jefferson is committed to being part of the solution to Delaware’s physician shortage,” Jefferson CEO Dr. Joseph Cacchione said in a statement. “We are proud to help build a future where every Delawarean has access to the care they deserve. Jefferson is all in.”

The school’s creation is being supported by $157.4 million from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Delaware is one of three states without a Doctor of Medicine or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine program. Since the late 1960s, Jefferson and the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine have reserved seats for Delaware students.

“Sidney Kimmel Medical College has trained generations of physicians for more than 200 years, more than any other medical college in the country,” Said Ibrahim, dean of Sidney Kimmel Medical College, said in a statement. “It is a privilege to bring our mission to Delaware’s patients and communities.”

Jefferson has announced several expansions recently. The university is establishing a full-time doctor of nursing practice-nurse anesthesia program and several online graduate programs at the Lehigh Valley Health Network Center for Healthcare Education in Lehigh County. It also is opening a satellite respiratory therapy lab at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest in Allentown.

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Delaware

Delaware is getting its first medical school, with classes set to start in 2028

Published

14 hours ago

June 2, 2026

Press Room

Delaware is getting its first medical school, with classes set to start in 2028

Delaware officials said medical students will start their classroom instruction at UD and then do their clinical training at offices and health care systems in Kent and Sussex counties, where the shortage of doctors is most acute.

However, ChristianaCare, which has its own partnership with Jefferson, is not participating. The state’s largest health care system was part of Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine’s unsuccessful bid to operate the school. In a joint statement from ChristianaCare and PCOM, the two organizations expressed disappointment with not being part of the consortium of higher education institutions and healthcare organizations.

“The path forward raises genuine questions about whether the school’s goals can be fully realized without ChristianaCare’s meaningful participation in its clinical training mission,” it said. “The success of any four-year medical program depends not just on an academic institution, but on a true and committed partnership with its clinical partners — one built on shared mission, mutual investment and trust developed over time.”

Students in the first class can get their tuition subsidized, covering all of their education costs, in exchange for an agreement to work in rural Delaware for five years.

Running the medical school is expected to cost Jefferson $78 million over the next five years. The money is from a federal rural health grant through the Rural Health Transformation Program, which congressional Republicans created in the so-called “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act.”

The program will give $50 billion to every state over five years, though exactly the total each will eventually receive is unclear. Half of the money is to be distributed equally to states and the other half is awarded by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services based on a variety of factors.

The state applied for $1 billion late last year to improve health care in Kent and Sussex counties. The Trump administration has so far allocated Delaware $157 million. Delaware is expected to receive at least $500 million over the life of the fund.

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