Good day, citizens of Delaware! Should you not have had the opportunity to cast your vote yet, today serves as the day to exercise your civic responsibility. Polling stations will open their doors at 7 a.m. and cease operations at 8 p.m. We anticipate that the first wave of statewide results will start emerging shortly after polling stations wind down for the day on this Tuesday evening.
Since the 2020 presidential election, a vast array of election laws and modifications around voting access, initially introduced as reactions to the Covid-19 pandemic, have led to dichotomy in general assembly houses and caused a rift in the nation. Key battleground states that President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris aim to secure, such as Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, are subject to regulations that prevent the onset of processing absentee and mail-in ballots until Election Day, causing expected delays in the final tally.
Given the predicted closeness of the electoral race and the time required to count each vote, it may be a while before we are able to declare a clear victor. Preliminary results might start surfacing at around 6 p.m., aligned with the closure of polling stations in portions of Indiana and Kentucky.
By 7 p.m., vote collection will conclude in politically influential Georgia, alongside South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, and the remaining areas of Indiana and Kentucky. Among the rejoicing voters, those residing in Delaware will walk away with a symbolic ‘I voted’ sticker, showing their active participation in the democratic process on this day.
Uncertainty surrounds the origin of the nationally recognized ‘I voted’ sticker, particularly in terms of when its distribution began. However, it’s widely believed that the current emblem, which boasts an American flag design, began making waves nationally in the late 20th century, around the late 1980s to be precise.
Given that change remains as the only constant, the ‘I voted’ stickers have also undergone transformations, as various states and local jurisdictions across the United States adopt unique designs to represent their specific electoral events.
59-year-old Constance Higgins, a resident of Georgetown, was found to be the lone individual outside Georgetown Elementary School around midday. Affixed to a shirt that advocated ‘STAND FOR FREEDOM’ and accessorized with Republican elephant earrings, Higgins was seen holding a sign endorsing Trump. Her presence at the location had begun around 10 a.m., and she had monitored nearly 200 people entering the precinct to cast their votes.
Higgins stated her support for Trump was grounded in her preference for his immigration strategies, as well as a heightened sense of security she felt under his presidency. Within local politics, she expressed her intent to vote for Mike Ramone and Ruth Briggs-King as her choices for governor and lieutenant governor, respectively.
An impressive total of over 200,000 residents of Delaware have taken advantage of early in-person voting at one of the state’s 19 designated centers. The number represents a quarter of the state’s registered voters. The state has also recorded an additional 37,416 votes through absentee ballots.
Overall, before the actual Election Day, a total of 246,933 Delaware citizens have exercised their right to vote. This puts a clear emphasis on the active political engagement within the community.
Some hiccups were noticed in Smyrna’s voting process; particularly, two polling places – Smyrna Middle School and Sunnyside Elementary School – experienced a power outage that started around 11:30 a.m. However, local officials have responded by dispatching generators to the locations.
Due to the power mishap, Sunnyside had to stop its services from roughly 11:30 a.m. to noon. Voter Angie Rodriguez, who arrived while the power was out, reported a minor delay of about ten minutes before she was able to exercise her vote. She provided assurance by saying, ‘The lights are on and the machines worked fine.’
As of late morning Tuesday, around 10:45 a.m., the polling place at McKean High School in Mill Creek exhibited a steady flow of voters. There was a persisting line formed around the pool lobby and the back portion of the gymnasium, but the wait time was manageable, clocking in at around 15 minutes.
On several occasions, cheers erupted from the venue as first-time voters made their presence known to polling staff. This reflects the enthusiasm and spirit of civic responsibility within the community.