Record number of early ballots returned in Sussex

The window to vote absentee in Delaware for the 2016 General Election closed at noon, Nov. 7.

An hour before the window shut, Sussex County Department of Elections Director Ken McDowell said he already knew the old record for absentee ballots returned – 7,100 – had been broken.

“There’s an hour left and the number of absentee ballots is at 9,500,” McDowell said. “And we’re still counting.” The old record has been set a couple of times, he said.

McDowell, who has been with the department since 1991, said he expected the record-setting number of absentee ballots to translate into a record-breaking number of total votes. He said it was a simple matter of math.

The previous high was set at 68 percent in 2012, and there were 134,000 registered voters, he explained. There are now more than 155,000 registered voters, and Sussex County will turn out to vote because, said McDowell, there’s a large population of people 50 and older.

“They, of which I’m one, vote,” he laughed. “I expect a huge vote.”

McDowell said preparing for what could be a record-setting voter turnout for Sussex County has been intense, but he said he and his staff have had plenty of help.

“There’s a lot of seasonal knowledge. I’ve been working with some of these gals 20, 30 or 40 years,” he said. “They’ve been a lifesaver.”

The county’s major party committee chairs didn’t use the word intense to describe the 2016 election, but their descriptions were similar.

Billy Carroll, Sussex County Republican Party chair, said he couldn’t wait until it was all over. “We’re just pushing through to the end,” he said Nov. 7.

“I’m exhausted,” said Sussex Democratic Party Chair  Mitch Crane.

Locally, Carroll said, Republicans are going to do real well. “We’ve kept all those incumbents, and I think we’ll pick up a county council seat and a row seat,” he said.

There were a number of uncontested Republicans in Sussex County this year – Sen. Brian Pettyjohn in the 19th Senatorial District; Reps. Harvey Kenton in the 36th District, Ron Gray in the 38th District and Timothy Dukes in the 40th District; and county Councilmen Michael Vincent in District 1 and Sam Wilson in District 3.

Almost all the contested races were in the Cape Region.

There are two candidates for the 14th Representative District race – Republican challenger James DeMartino and Democratic incumbent Pete Schwartzkopf.There are three candidates running for office in the 20th Representative District – Independent Party of Delaware challenger Don Ayotte, Republican incumbent Steve Smyk and Democratic challenger Barbara Vaughan. There are two candidates running in the 37th Representative District race – Republican incumbent Ruth Briggs King and Democratic challenger Paulette Rappa. The race for the Sussex County County Council District 3 features two candidates – Republican I.G. Burton III and Democrat Leslie Ledogar. The Clerk of the Peace race features Republican Norman “Jay” Jones against Democrat Charlie Koskey.

Crane made no predictions, but he said in Sussex all the Democratic candidates had been doing their job campaigning hard.

“I’ll be happy when it’s over, only if we win,” he said.

Both men said, even at the local level, the presidential race between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump had driven much of the discussion.

The differences between the two candidates are stark, said Crane, and some of it has been spreading into Delaware. “We don’t need more of that,” he said.

The national fervor has been good for the Republican party in Sussex County, said Carroll.

“Half the people who have stopped by the Georgetown office looking to do something for Trump have been Democrats,” said Carroll.

For a full list of the statewide and local candidates, see the Cape Gazette’s 2016 Election Guide online.

In Delaware, voters do not have to show proof of identification before being allowed to vote, but according to the Delaware Department of Elections website, showing an ID makes checking in faster and reduces mistakes. If no ID is shown, a form must be filled out before a person can vote.

Acceptable forms of ID include a Delaware driver's license or state ID, U.S. passport, signed polling place or Social Security card, a signed vehicle registration, a signed credit card with photo, or similar document that identifies the person by photo or signature.

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Registered voters can find their polling location and sample ballot on the Department of Elections’ website at ivote.de.gov.

For more information, call the Sussex County Department of Elections at 302-856-5367 or go to their website at electionssc.delaware.gov.