Delaware Code Title 15 Sec. 5616A – Rejected ballots
(a) No vote shall be accepted or counted if any of the following occurs:
(1) The signature of the voter that appears on the front of the ballot envelope is found to have been altered or the ballot envelope is not signed as required under § 5608A(a)(2) of this title.
(2) The voter is not a duly registered elector in this State.
(3) The ballot envelope is open.
(4) It is evident that the ballot envelope has been opened and resealed.
(5) It is evident that the ballot envelope has been tampered with or altered.
Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 15 Sec. 5616A
- Ballot: means those portions of cardboard, paper or other material to be placed within the ballot frames of a voting machine or to be used for absentee voting in order to list the names of the offices to be voted for, the name of each candidate and the designation of the party by which the candidate is nominated, a space for the voter to write in the name of any candidate of that voter's choice for any office, and the statement of any question submitted with provision for a "yes" or "no" vote. See Delaware Code Title 15 Sec. 101
- Judge: means judge of elections. See Delaware Code Title 15 Sec. 101
- Signature: means both a written signature conforming to § 302(23) of Title 1 and a digital or electronic signature that is an electronic sound, symbol or process attached to or logically associated with a document and executed or adopted by a person with the intent to sign the document as specified by the State Election Commissioner. See Delaware Code Title 15 Sec. 101
- State: means the State of Delaware; and when applied to different parts of the United States, it includes the District of Columbia and the several territories and possessions of the United States. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
(b) If the ballot envelope has not been opened at the time an election judge decides that the offered ballot contained therein should not be accepted or voted for any of the reasons under subsection (a) of this section, it must not be opened and the election judge shall endorse on the ballot envelope “REJECTED” and state the reason therefore.
(c) If the ballot envelope has been opened at the time an election judge decides that the offered ballot contained therein should not be accepted or voted for any of the reasons under subsection (a) of this section, the ballot must be returned to its ballot envelope and the election judge shall endorse on the ballot envelope “REJECTED” and state the reason therefore.
(d) Whenever it is made to appear by due proof to an election judge that any voter, who has marked and forwarded the voter’s ballot, has subsequently died, the ballot envelope containing the ballot must not be opened and the election judge shall record on the ballot envelope “REJECTED, DEAD” and must be preserved and disposed of as other rejected ballots.
(e) Whenever a ballot has not been counted but has been rejected under this section, the appropriate notation must be made on the mail ballot tally and the number of ballots rejected must be noted on the certificates of election.
(f) Ballots rejected under this section must be deposited in a carrier envelope for the election district to which they apply.