How Delaware elections work

You don't live in one district. You live in about six or seven at once, and each one elects somebody different.

Your address puts you in a state Senate district, a state House district, a county council district, a school district, and maybe a city or town. All of Delaware shares one seat in the U.S. House, so there's no congressional district to look up. Your voter record also has a code like 07-12. The first number is your state House district, called the Representative District or RD. The second is your Election District or ED, which decides your polling place.

How to look yours up

1. Go to iVote Delaware and look up your voter record. It shows your districts and your polling place.
2. Use the General Assembly's legislator search to find your state senator and state representative by address.
3. See the maps for yourself on the Department of Elections map site.

Delaware is small, so the people who represent you are closer than you think. A state Senate district here is about 47,000 people. A state House district is about 24,000.

Some important jobs aren't elected at all. Delaware judges are picked by the Governor from a list made by a nominating commission, and the state Senate has to confirm them. The Governor also appoints people to hundreds of state boards and commissions. More on that below.

State senators serve four years most of the time. After the maps are redrawn each decade, some seats get one two-year term so the elections stay staggered.

Every ten years, after the Census, the lines get redrawn so each district has about the same number of people.

• In Delaware, the General Assembly draws the maps for its own Senate and House districts. They pass them like any other bill. The last maps were signed on November 2, 2021.
• Districts have to be close in size. Each one can be no more than 5% above or below the ideal population.
• The law says districts should be compact and connected, should keep communities with shared interests together, and have to follow the federal Voting Rights Act.
• Counties redraw their own council districts. School district lines are set separately and don't change with redistricting.
• Since Delaware has only one U.S. House seat, there's no congressional map to draw.

That's why district shapes can look strange. The lines follow where people live, roads and neighborhood borders, and choices lawmakers make. Some states hand the job to an independent commission. Delaware doesn't. The next redraw comes after the 2030 Census, and public hearings are your chance to weigh in.

Delaware votes every year, not just in November. Here's how a typical cycle runs.

• January: The General Assembly starts its session on the second Tuesday in January. It runs through June 30. This is when bills move.
• Spring, in presidential years: The presidential primary is held in April.
• May: School board elections, on the second Tuesday in May. They're nonpartisan, so every voter in the school district can vote, whatever their party.
• Late May: Last day for registered voters to switch parties before the September primary. It's the last Friday in May.
• July: Candidates for state and county office file by noon on the second Tuesday in July.
• September: The state primary. In 2026 it was September 15.
• October: Voter registration closes on the fourth Saturday before the election. Early voting starts about 10 days out.
• First Tuesday after the first Monday in November, in even years: The general election.
• Any time: Special elections fill seats that open up between regular elections. Towns and cities also hold their own elections on their own schedules.

Every even year, every state House seat and part of the state Senate are on the ballot. The odd years are quieter, which is exactly why school board and town elections are often decided by a few hundred votes.

The primary is where each party picks its nominee. In a lot of Delaware districts, the primary is the real race.

In November, you choose between parties. In the primary, you choose within one. If a district leans heavily toward one party, whoever wins that party's primary usually wins the seat. Turnout in primaries is a lot lower than in November, so every vote counts for more.

How to vote in a primary

• Delaware has closed primaries. You can only vote in the primary of the party you're registered with.
• If you're unaffiliated, you can't vote in a party primary right now. You can still vote in November and in school board elections.
• Want to switch parties before the primary? If you're already registered, the deadline is the last Friday in May. New voters can pick a party when they register, up to the registration deadline.
• You can change or check your party at iVote Delaware.
• Early voting and absentee voting work the same way for primaries as for the general election.

You've got three ways to vote in Delaware. Early, by absentee ballot, or on Election Day.

Who can register

You can register if you're a U.S. citizen, live in Delaware, and will be 18 by Election Day. You can preregister at 16 or 17, and you'll be ready to vote when you turn 18. College students can register at home or at their school address, but only one.

Register

• Online at iVote Delaware, at the DMV, or with a paper form from the Department of Elections.
• The deadline is the fourth Saturday before a primary or general election. For November 3, 2026, that's Saturday, October 10.
• If you moved, update your address. It changes your districts and your polling place.

Vote early

Early voting runs for about 10 days before each primary and general election, at locations in each county. You can use any early voting site in your county. Check the dates and sites on the Department of Elections website.

Vote absentee

Delaware requires a reason to vote absentee. The reasons include illness or disability, military service, work, being away on vacation, and religious beliefs. Request your ballot early. It has to be back by the time polls close on Election Day.

Vote on Election Day

• Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• You vote at your assigned polling place. iVote Delaware tells you where it is.
• You don't need a photo ID. Bringing an ID or a document with your name and address makes check-in faster. If you don't have one, you can sign a form confirming who you are.
• If you're in line by 8 p.m., stay in line. You get to vote.

Know these before you go.

• If there's a problem with your registration, ask for a provisional ballot. It only counts if you're at the right polling place, and in a primary it only counts for your own party.
• You can get help in the voting booth if you need it because of a disability or because it's hard for you to read or write. You choose who helps you, as long as it isn't your employer or someone from your union. That's federal law. If you'd like help in Spanish, bring someone you trust.
• Every polling place has an accessible voting machine.
• Nobody can campaign right next to the entrance of a polling place. If someone is bothering you, tell the inspector at your polling place.

Voting with a past conviction

• If you were convicted of most felonies, your right to vote comes back automatically once you've finished your whole sentence, including probation or parole. Unpaid fines and fees don't stop you.
• A few convictions are permanent disqualifications. Those are murder or manslaughter, some bribery and public corruption crimes, and sexual offenses. Election crimes carry a 10-year wait.
• A misdemeanor never takes away your right to vote. If you're in jail on a misdemeanor or waiting for trial, you can vote absentee.
• Not sure where you stand? Call the Department of Elections before you register.

Election problems

Call the Department of Elections office in your county. New Castle County (302) 577-3464, Kent County (302) 739-4498, Sussex County (302) 856-5367.

Voting matters. So does everything around it. Campaigns and elections run on people who never put their own name on a ballot.

If you've ever thought someone should do something about it, that someone could be you.

I ran as a restaurant owner and a dad, not a politician. We need more people like that on the ballot, at every level. School board and town council are good places to start. They're closer to home, the campaigns are smaller, and you learn fast.

What it takes

1. Pick your seat. Look up your districts and find out when that seat is next on the ballot.
2. Talk to people first. Your family, your neighbors, people who've run before. You'll learn more from them than from anything online.
3. Set up your committee. Once you start raising or spending money, you have to register a campaign committee with the Department of Elections and file finance reports on time.
4. File to get on the ballot. For state and county office, party candidates file by noon on the second Tuesday in July. Parties set a filing fee of up to 1% of the office's salary for the whole term. In 2026, a Democratic candidate for state Senate in New Castle County paid $2,027. School board candidates file separately and earlier in the year, so check with the Department of Elections.
5. Build your team. A treasurer, a few people you trust, and volunteers who'll knock doors with you.

If you're thinking about it, reach out. I'll tell you what I learned, the good parts and the hard parts.

If you want to change something, it helps to know where to push.

1. A legislator introduces a bill in the Senate or the House. Anyone can ask their legislator to sponsor an idea.
2. A committee holds a hearing. This is where the public can speak. Most bills that die, die here.
3. The full chamber votes. Then the bill goes to the other chamber and does it all again.
4. The Governor signs or vetoes it. A veto can be overridden with a three-fifths vote in both chambers.
5. Changing the state constitution is different. It takes a two-thirds vote in two General Assemblies in a row. In Delaware, it doesn't go to the voters. Delaware also doesn't have citizen ballot initiatives, so your legislators are the way in.

You can follow any bill, see when it's scheduled for a hearing, and read how your legislators voted on the General Assembly website.

• Absentee ballot: A ballot you vote by mail when you have an approved reason.
• Election District (ED): The smallest voting area. It decides your polling place.
• General election: The November election where voters choose between the parties' nominees.
• Incumbent: The person who holds the office now.
• Open seat: A race with no incumbent running.
• Primary: The election where a party's registered voters pick its nominee.
• Provisional ballot: A ballot you cast when your eligibility can't be confirmed at the polls. It's checked after Election Day.
• Redistricting: Redrawing district lines after each Census.
• Representative District (RD): Your state House district. Parties organize by RD.
• Special election: An election to fill a seat that opened up early.
• Unaffiliated: Registered to vote without joining a party.
• Write-in: A vote for someone whose name isn't printed on the ballot.

• Check your registration, districts and polling place: iVote Delaware
• Delaware Department of Elections
• Election dates and early voting sites
• Find your state legislators
• District maps
• Work the polls
• State boards and commissions
• Running for office in Delaware