Joseph Fulgham, Director of Policy and Communications,
Delaware House of Representatives Republican Caucus
The Delaware John Lewis Voting Rights Act was released by the House Elections & Government Affairs Committee on Wednesday. House Bill 444 is a state-level framework to prevent voter suppression, vote dilution, and other discriminatory election practices.
While apparently well-intentioned, the flawed bill is being fast-tracked through the legislative process, having just been introduced late last week.
Among the concerns is that the measure defines voter suppression so broadly that almost any election rule—such as voter ID, signature checks, or standard polling hours—could be challenged if statistical voting differences occur between designated minority groups and the general population.
Additionally, the bill eliminates intent as a factor in determining whether voter suppression has occurred. Bias claims would not require any proof of an intentional act of discrimination.
As detailed in this video, the initiative also illustrates an ironic level of duplicity. House and Senate Democrats sponsoring the bill continue to embrace some of the same methods they seek to ban under HB 444, using them to suppress and dilute the voting power of one of the state’s largest minority voting groups: Delaware’s 195,000 registered Republicans.
More than that, they have repeatedly killed legislation aimed at making the redistricting process more equitable. The latest examples of this in the current General Assembly are House Bill 184 and Senate Bill 14. Both redistricting reform measures have failed to advance.
To paraphrase a line from George Orwell’s Animal Farm, Delaware Democrats believe all voices should be heard, except some voices should be heard more than others.
NOTE: Because HB 444 carries an estimated cost of at least $300,000 annually, the measure has been assigned to the House Appropriations Committee for further consideration.
