Nonresident property owners want a vote in Lewes

Should nonresident property owners be able to vote in Lewes elections?

That issue was raised by the public at Lewes Mayor and City Council’s April 24 hearing about proposed changes to the city charter. Although the issue was not on the agenda, several members of the public focused on voting rights. 

Citing the practice of other coastal communities, Lewes Beach resident Kevin McGuiness said he believes nonresidents who own property should be allowed to vote in municipal elections. 

He acknowledged property owners can vote in referendums if the city wants to issue a bond or certificate of indebtedness, but he thinks this does not give them a say in how they are taxed. McGuiness tied his comments to the proposed charter changes, saying an increased threshold to trigger a referendum on borrowing would restrict the rights of nonresident property owners. Through his own research, he said he found that more than half of Lewes taxpayers are disenfranchised. 

Nick Carter, who is a nonresident property owner, asked Mayor Andrew Williams to stop working on the proposed changes. Carter noted that Williams said he would tackle voting rights of nonresidents when he was running for office. Carter requested council begin researching the issue as opposed to the proposed charter changes.

“This has been brought up and I’ve discussed [the issue] and one of the concerns I have is, because some of the homes are owned by entities, how is that vote treated? Do all 10 owners of the LLC get a vote?” Williams asked.

Nonresidents property owners David Schein and Scott Sipprelle also shared concerns that more than half of Lewes taxpayers are disenfranchised. 

“You only get one vote no matter how many properties you have,” Sipprelle said. “The vote attaches to a person; corporations don’t vote. If I own, and I’ve owned five properties, I only get one vote.”

When Sipprelle hinted that council was hiding something, Williams took objection and Deputy Mayor Khalil Saliba interjected.

“It was never part of the agenda, we actually probably shouldn’t even be talking about it,” Saliba said.

Saliba said he would be happy to talk about it and has discussed the issue with the Lewes Beach Civic Association and Lewes Beach property owners in the past, but the public hearing was not the time nor place. Saliba said there have been workshops every month and multiple chances for the issue to be put forth. He said he hasn’t heard anyone talking about it recently, but he thinks there is a path to cautiously explore.

“We’re in a position now to see how the other beach communities have dealt with it,” he said. “Fenwick Island is well documented and has had a really rough time of it.”

Saliba noted that no one up until April 24 had even mentioned the issue of disenfranchisement or nonresident voting.

“We haven’t had this discussion,” said Councilwoman Carolyn Jones. “Maybe we could look at it between the owner who rents and those who live here five months. It just hasn’t been on the plate.”

Schein apologized for introducing something that wasn’t on the agenda. He was reassured by Williams.

“There’s no need to apologize. We’re talking about empowerment, referendum [and] representation – it’s all contextual,” Williams said.

Carter objected to the notion that the issue has not been brought up, citing letters he wrote himself. He demanded council address the voting rights of nonresidents in the current proposed changes. His wife, Laurie, followed by saying the couple does not live at their Bay Avenue home full time, but rather in Wolfe Runne. She directed her plea to Jones, thanking her for working on the proposed changes, but adding nonresidents should be able to vote.

Williams closed the public hearing by stressing how big the question at hand is.

Following the meeting, there was a claim that the residency status could be verified through the Multiple Listing Service and that data suggested a low number of full-time occupants. Councilwoman Candace Vessella reached out to Sussex County officials and was told details of residency status are not contained in real estate deeds or tax details.