Polls see long lines of early voters on day one; there will be no new polls

Early voter turnout in Delaware was staggering. On Friday there were queues of more than two and a half hours around designated early voting polling stations, and similar scenes are expected on Saturday.

More than 27,000 people cast ballots on the first day of early voting Friday, according to the Delaware Department of Elections. That number is about half of the total number of early ballots cast in the entire 2022 early voting period.

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Granted, this election includes a presidential race. Cathleen Hartsky-Carter, community relations officer at the Department of Elections, said they did not expect this level of turnout.

“I don’t know if we thought we’d have this many people on the first day of early voting, but we’re happy to see it,” she said.

At Newark’s early voting location, the Hudson State Service Center, voters at the front of the line called for more polling places to open. However, there are no plans to open more early voting sites. Opening early voting sites is a challenge, according to Hartsky-Carter, because finding a public venue willing to host voting 10 days before the election.

ELECTION 2024: View our voter guide

State law requires the state Department of Elections to open one early polling place in each county and one in Wilmington.

“We saw the popularity in 2022 and we wanted to make sure we had enough early voting sites, so we did much more than the law required,” Hartsky-Carter said.

She said a limited number of machines have been programmed for early voting, and more voting machines have been certified for use on Election Day, when the number of open polling places increases from 19 to 532.

Hartsky-Carter said voters will have to wait in line Saturday at one of six locations in New Castle County, four locations in Kent County and nine locations in Sussex County.

“Everyone in line was very deferential and deferential to our election officials, and our election officials are doing a great job of serving the number of voters coming in,” she said.

Where can I vote early in Delaware?

The polling stations are open from Saturday October 26 to Tuesday October 29 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. On Wednesday, October 30 to Sunday, November 3, polling stations open at 7 a.m. and close at the same time as previous days.

According to the Delaware Department of Elections website, there are six places open for early voting in New Castle County:

Appoquinimink State Service Center, 122 Silver Lake Road, Middletown
Christina Crossing, 501 S. Walnut St., Suite 13, Wilmington
Claymont Community Center, 3301 Green St., Claymont
Department of Elections Warehouse, 220 Lisa Drive, New Castle
Hudson State Service Center, 501 Ogletown Road, Newark
Police Athletic League, 3707 N. Market St., Wilmington

Four polling places have opened in Kent County:

BPOE No. 1903 Elks Lodge, 200 S. Saulsbury Road, Dover
Crossroad Christian Church, 4867 N. Dupont Highway, Dover
Frederica Senior Center, 216 Market St., Frederica
Harrington Parks and Recreation, 114 E Liberty St., Harrington

Nine polling places have opened in Sussex County:

American Legion Post 28 Millsboro, 31768 Legion Road, Millsboro
Department of Elections Warehouse, 542 S. Bedford St., Georgetown
Department of Elections Warehouse, 200 Allen St., Seaford
Ellendale Fire Hall, 302 Main St., Ellendale
Laurel Fire Hall, 205 W. 10th St., Laurel
Margaret H. Rollins Community Center, 101 Adams Ave., Lewes
Midway Early Voting Location, 18585 Coastal Highway, Suite 13, Rehoboth Beach
Millville Community Center, 32517 Dukes Drive, Millville
Roxana Fire Hall, 35943 Zion Church Road, Frankford