Chapter 30. Ballot Qualifications
TITLE 15
Elections
Primary Elections and Nominations of Candidates
CHAPTER 30. BALLOT QUALIFICATIONS
§ 3001. Political parties [Effective until Dec. 1, 2010]
No political party shall be listed on any general election ballot unless, 21 days prior to the date of the primary election, there shall be registered in the name of that party a number of voters equal to at least 5/100 of 1 percent of the total number of voters registered in the State as of December 31 of the year immediately preceding the general election year.
61 Del. Laws, c. 418, § 7; 77 Del. Laws, c. 227, § 38; 77 Del. Laws, c. 429, § 1.;
§ 3001. Political parties [Effective Dec. 1, 2010]
No political party shall be listed on any general election ballot unless, 21 days prior to the date of the primary election, there shall be registered in the name of that party a number of voters equal to at least 10/100 of 1 percent of the total number of voters registered in the State as of December 31 of the year immediately preceding the general election year.
77 Del. Laws, c. 429, § 2.;
§ 3002. Unaffiliated candidates.
(a) No person shall qualify to appear on the general election ballot of this State as a candidate unaffiliated with a political party unless such person fulfills the requirements of this chapter and is so certified by the State Election Commissioner, if a statewide candidate, or the appropriate county department of elections, if not a statewide candidate.
(b) No individual shall be listed as an unaffiliated candidate on any general election ballot unless such individual shall have filed, on or before the close of the official business day on September 1 of the general election year, a sworn declaration with the State Election Commissioner, if a statewide candidate, or the appropriate county department of elections, if a nonstatewide candidate, stating that the nonstatewide candidate is an unaffiliated candidate and has not been affiliated with any political party for at least 3 months prior to the filing of the declaration, as required by this title, and shall have filed nominating petitions, as prescribed in this chapter, and signed by not less than 1 percent of the total number of voters registered, as of December 31 of the year immediately preceding the general election year in the State, or if a nonstatewide candidate, of those voters eligible to vote for that office which such individual seeks.
(c) The nominating petition shall contain such information and be on a form as prescribed by the State Election Commission. The following information shall, however, be contained in the petition:
(1) Name of the unaffiliated candidate and the office for which the candidate is filing;
(2) Signature, printed name, address at which registered, social security number and date on which signed by signer;
(3) A statement that the signer understands that by intentionally entering false information on the petition the signer may be subject to prosecution for perjury;
(4) A sworn notarized statement of the person circulating the petition that he or she witnessed the placing of each signature on the petition.
(d) Such petition shall be circulated and executed between January 1 and July 15 of the year in which the general election is held. Each registered voter signing shall do so upon a petition prepared for the county in which that registered voter is registered, and the petition shall be filed with the department of elections for the county in which the petitioners reside. The signatures and other information thereon shall be verified by the department receiving the petition.
(e) Signatures may be rejected for the following reasons:
(1) The signer was not a registered voter on the date the signer signed the petition;
(2) The signer's place of residence or the signer's social security number do not match those appearing in the permanent registration record;
(3) The signer did not list that signer's own social security number;
(4) It appears that the signature is a forgery;
(5) The signer's identity cannot be verified because the information and/or signature submitted is illegible, incomplete or obscured.
(f) Where a petition or a part thereof is rejected, the individual submitting same shall have the right to learn the reason or reasons for such rejection and an opportunity to examine the signatures rejected.
61 Del. Laws, c. 418, § 7; 67 Del. Laws, c. 354, § 20; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1.;
§ 3003. County ballots.
A county department of elections shall not list a political party on any ballot within the county unless at least 1 candidate for that political party qualifies to appear on at least 1 ballot in the county.
74 Del. Laws, c. 411, § 20.;