Delaware elections, 2012

Contents
1 2012 Elections
2 Eligibility to Vote
2.1 Primary election
2.2 General election
3 Voting absentee
3.1 Eligibility
3.2 Deadlines
3.3 Military and overseas voting
4 Voting early
5 See also
6 References

The state of Delaware held elections in 2012. Below are the dates of note:

• Signature filing deadline: July 10, 2012
• Primary date: September 11, 2012
• General election date: November 6, 2012

On the 2012 ballot	Click here for all November 6, 2012 Election Results
U.S. Senate (1 seat)		Preview Article
U.S. House (9 seats)
State Executives (3 state executive positions)		Preview Article
State Senate (21 seats)		Preview Article
State House (41 seats)
Ballot measures (0 measures)		N/A

2012 Elections

Note: Election information listed on this page does not pertain to 2012 presidential elections. For more about Ballotpedia's areas of coverage, click here.
For election results in the 50 states, see our November 6, 2012 election results page

Elections by type

U.S. Senate

See also: United States Senate elections in Delaware, 2012

U.S. Senate, Delaware General Election, 2012

Party	Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Thomas Carper Incumbent	66.4%	265,415
	Republican	Kevin Wade	29%	115,700
	Green	Alexander Pires	3.8%	15,300
	Independent	Andrew Richard Groff	0.8%	3,191
Total Votes	399,606
Source: U.S. House Clerk "2012 Election Statistics"

U.S. House

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Delaware, 2012

Members of the U.S. House from Delaware -- Partisan Breakdown
Party	As of November 2012	After the 2012 Election
	Democratic Party	1	1
	Republican Party	0	0
Total	1	1

District	General Election Candidates	Incumbent	2012 Winner	Partisan Switch?
At-large	John Carney Tom Kovach Scott Gesty Bernard August	John Carney	John Carney	No

State Executives

See also: Delaware state executive official elections, 2012

Three state executive positions were up for election.

• Governor
• Lieutenant Governor
• Insurance Commissioner

Governor of Delaware General Election, 2012
Party	Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Jack Markell Incumbent	69.3%	275,993
	Republican	Jeff Cragg	28.6%	113,793
	Libertarian	Jesse McVay	0.9%	3,668
	Green	Mark Joseph Perri	1.1%	4,575
Total Votes	398,029
Election results via Delaware Board of Elections

Lieutenant Governor of Delaware General Election, 2012
Party	Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Matthew Denn Incumbent	61.6%	238,959
	Republican	Sher Valenzuela	37.1%	143,978
	Libertarian	Margie Waite-McKeown	1.3%	5,206
Total Votes	388,143
Election results via Delaware State Board of Elections

Delaware Insurance Commissioner General Election, 2012
Party	Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Karen Weldin Stewart Incumbent	61.1%	233,354
	Republican	Benjamin Mobley	36.8%	140,669
	Libertarian	David R. Eisenhour	2.1%	7,838
Total Votes	381,861
Election results via Delaware State Board of Elections

State Senate

See also: Delaware State Senate elections, 2012

Heading into the election, Democrats maintained partisan control in the state senate.

Delaware State Senate
Party	As of November 5, 2012	After the 2012 Election
	Democratic Party	14	13
	Republican Party	7	8
Total	21	21

State House

See also: Delaware House of Representatives elections, 2012

Heading into the election, Democrats maintained partisan control in the state house.

Delaware House of Representatives
Party	As of November 5, 2012	After the 2012 Election
	Democratic Party	26	27
	Republican Party	15	14
Total	41	41

Eligibility to Vote

Primary election

See also: Voting in the 2012 primary elections

Delaware was one of 21 states to use a strictly closed primary system. Voters were required to register to vote in the primary by August 18, 2012, which was 24 days before the primary took place.^[1] (Information about registering to vote)

General election

See also: Voting in the 2012 general elections

The deadline to register to vote was 24 days prior to the election day, which in 2012 was October 13.^[2]

• Voter ID info
• Residency requirements: Resident (proof required)^[3]
• Same-day registration: None

Voting absentee

See also: Absentee Voting

The deadline for eligible voters to request an absentee/mail-in ballot is no later than four days before an election.^[4]

According to the state's absentee/mail-in ballot application, an individual is eligible for any of the following reasons:^[5]

“

I am in public service of the United States (U.S.) or the State of Delaware, or I am a citizen of the U.S. temporarily residing outside the territorial limits of the U.S. and the District of Columbia, or such person’s spouse or dependent when residing with or accompanying such person, or absent from this State because of illness or injury while serving the armed forces of the U.S. I am in the armed forces of the U.S. or the merchant marine of the US., or attached to and serving with the armed forces of the U.S. in the American Red Cross or United Service Organizations. Due to the nature of my business or occupation. This reason includes: the business or occupaton of providing care to my parent, spouse, or child who is living at home and requires constant care due to illness, disability, or injury; students; and otherwise eligible persons who are incarcerated. I am sick or physically disabled (temporarily or permanently). I am absent from the district while on vacation. I am unable to vote at a certain Ɵme or on a certain day due to the tenets or teachings of my religion. I am otherwise authorized pursuant to the Federal Uniformed and Overseas Citzens Absentee Voting Act to vote by absentee ballot. I am otherwise authorized by federal law to vote by absentee ballot.[6]

”

Certain of these voters are eligible for a permanent absentee/mail-in voting status and may request to be added to the permanent list on their ballot application.^[5]

On October 7, 2022, the Delaware Supreme Court struck down a state law allowing any registered voter to vote by absentee/mail-in ballot.^[7]

On eligibility, Article V, Section 4A, of the Delaware Constitution reads:^[8][9]

“

The General Assembly shall enact general laws providing that any qualified elector of this State, duly registered, who shall be unable to appear to cast his or her ballot at any general election at the regular polling place of the election district in which he or she is registered, either because of being in the public service of the United States or of this State, or his or her spouse or dependents when residing with or accompanying him or her because of the nature of his or her business or occupation, because of his or her sickness or physical disability, because of his or her absence from the district while on vacation, or because of the tenets or teachings of his or her religion, may cast a ballot at such general election to be counted in such election district.[6]

”

Voting early

See also: Early voting

Delaware is one of 14 states that does not allow traditional early voting. Instead, early voting is offered in the form of absentee in-person voting and is available as soon as absentee ballots are made available until noon on Election Day. To vote early, a voter must qualify for an absentee ballot. To see the accepted reasons for voting absentee, click here.^[10]

See also

Footnotes