Dewey Beach sets election schedule
Two seats are up for grabs in Dewey Beach’s municipal election, set for Saturday, Sept. 17.
Two-year seats held by Mayor Bill Stevens and Commissioner Gary Persinger expire in September. Stevens, first elected in 2020, said July 1 that he intends to run for another term.
Persinger has won three straight terms; he said June 30 he had no comment regarding whether he intends to run in this year’s municipal race. The candidate filing deadline is Thursday, Aug. 18.
A municipal election was not held in 2021, as no one but incumbent commissioners Paul Bauer and David Jasinski, and candidate Elisabeth Gibbings, filed to run for the three open seats. All three were deemed elected for two-year terms by town election officials.
Commissioner candidates must be eligible voters at least 21 years old, must have been a qualified elector in the town for at least one year prior, and must not be convicted felons. Candidates file as either resident or nonresident commissioners.
A resident commissioner is a bona fide resident of the town. A nonresident commissioner must satisfy one or more voter qualifications: be a bona fide resident, own real property within town, hold a valid lease on town property with a term of five or more years, or be a trustee and settlor/creator of a valid trust to which real property is located in town. Qualifying documents will be required.
Town charter states that no fewer than two sitting commissioners must qualify as resident commissioners.
Eligible voters must register and be 18 or older. They must also be a bona fide resident, an owner of real property within the town, a holder of a valid and recorded lease for a term of five years or more, or be a settlor/creator and trustee of a valid trust that is the owner of real property within the town.
According to town code, voter registration can be denied to anyone to whom a transfer or property is made or to whom a lease is executed for the sole purpose of qualifying the person to vote.
The deadline for candidate filing and voter registration is 5 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 18. Board of Election Chair Elaine Bole said eligible voters can look on the town website to see if they are on the list of registered voters and find the voter registration application, if needed.
Ballots may be cast in person or by absentee ballot. Registered voters may vote early with an absentee ballot at town hall during normal business hours from Monday, Aug. 29 through Friday, Sept. 16.
The deadline to apply for an absentee ballot and to vote by absentee at town hall is 12 p.m., Friday, Sept. 16. Absentee ballots must be received by 6 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 17
The election will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sept. 17, at the Dewey Beach Lifesaving Station, 1 Dagsworthy Ave.
For more information, or to request an absentee ballot, call Dewey Beach Town Hall at 302-227-6363 or go to townofdeweybeach.com/departments/boardofelections.
