Federal Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Challenging Lack of Voting Access for Eligible Incarcerated Voters
A federal judge today dismissed a lawsuit alleging Delaware officials are disenfranchising eligible voters who are detained pretrial or are incarcerated for a non-disqualifying offense and unable to vote absentee.
U.S. District Court Judge Jennifer Hall ruled that the court lacks jurisdiction over the matter and dismissed the case without prejudice, meaning the Prisoners Legal Advocacy Network, which brought the lawsuit, can refile.
The nonprofit alleges state officials— Delaware Gov. John Carney (D), Election Commissioner Anthony Albence (D) and Delaware Department of Correction Acting Commissioner Terra Taylor — are disenfranchising eligible voters who are either detained awaiting trial or have been convicted of a crime that isn’t a disqualifying offense (a misdemeanor).
At issue is the absence of a system that would allow eligible voters behind bars to cast their ballots, according to the complaint. Currently, the Department of Elections does not provide in-person voting machine options and due to the Delaware Supreme Court’s 2022 Higgin v. Albence decision, incarcerated voters do not have access to absentee voting.
In Higgin, the state’s highest court affirmed a lower court ruling that struck down a law allowing any voter to request a mail-in ballot without providing an excuse. The Prisoners Legal Advocacy Network argues that denying eligible voters who are incarcerated the right to vote violates the U.S. Constitution.
“Delaware now deprives Delaware’s eligible incarcerated voters—unable to vote in-person or absentee—of any way to exercise their fundamental constitutional right to vote, thus violating the First and Fourteenth Amendments,” the group states in the 2023 complaint.
The organization sought immediate relief from the court that would require the state to make it possible for detained voters to vote in the November election.
State attorneys argue the case is fundamentally flawed.
“There is no statute or regulation prohibiting eligible inmates and detainees from voting,” the Delaware Department of Justice said. “There is no allegation (nor could there be) of any interference with inmates’ and detainees’ registration, access to absentee ballots, or submission of absentee ballots, or that such absentee ballots are refused.”
They also say the Department of Justice “affirmatively represented, in view of the state’s absentee voting policies and laws, it would not prosecute any eligible inmates or detainees for voting via absentee ballot.”
In June, a judge asked for briefings from both sides on whether the plaintiffs have standing to sue and whether the case should be sent to the state Supreme Court to determine if eligible incarcerated voters can vote absentee.