Rotary Club of Wilmington hosts mayoral candidate meeting
Former City Treasurer Velda Jones-Potter and Governor John Carney deliver closing arguments at the Rotary Club of Wilmington’s “Meet the Mayor” candidate forum.
Primary election day is Tuesday, September 10, and that is when many highly anticipated races finally reach their climax.
But before you vote, you should consider the following five things:
Not all breeds have a primary
In Delaware, primaries are only held in contested races. This means that no primaries are held for races where only one candidate from each party is on the ballot. Instead, these races — such as the race for Delaware’s open U.S. Senate seat and some Statehouse seats — appear only on the general election ballot.
In some elections, only one particular party is running. In this case, only the party that has several candidates for the nomination will be on the primary ballot.
Some races may be too exciting to predict a winner on Election Day
While it’s always nice to know the likely winner of a party’s nomination on Election Day, it’s possible that some races will be too close to predict a winner on Tuesday night, especially in tight races where a small number of votes may matter.
The race for the Democratic nomination for governor is expected to remain exciting until the end. Unofficial results will be posted online at elections.delaware.gov.
You must vote at your assigned polling station
Unlike early voting, Delaware residents who vote in person on Election Day must vote at their assigned polling place, which is listed on your voter registration card, which you should have received in the mail after you registered.
If you are unsure of your polling place, you can search for your address on ivote.de.gov. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
BE INFORMED: Your guide to the 2024 primaries
You can only vote on races in the party you are registered with.
Only registered Democrats and Republicans can vote in the primary election. You cannot change your party or indicate a new party at the polling place. When you enter the voting booth, you can only vote in races for your party. For example, a registered Republican can only vote in primaries between Republican candidates.
This does not apply to parliamentary elections, where anyone can vote for any candidate regardless of party.
Your name and party will be called out when you vote. This is normal
Before you go to the polling booth on Tuesday, a poll worker will announce your name and party affiliation. The poll worker is required by law to do so, and the announcement is usually noted by all challengers on the ground. Challengers are chosen and authorized by the candidates on the ballot and their party, and only one per party may appear at a polling place.
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW: These 4 statewide races have had primaries in Delaware. Meet the candidates
Voters can be challenged if the challenger has a “valid reason” to believe that the voter is not properly registered, is not who he or she claims to be, does not live at his or her registered address, or was bribed to vote. The challenge is decided immediately by a majority vote of the polling place inspector and judges.
To evaluate their campaign strategies, challengers typically also take into account the turnout of their party’s registered voters.
Send story tips or ideas to Hannah Edelman at [email protected]. For more stories, follow her on X at @h_edelman.
