AN ACT PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE III OF THE DELAWARE CONSTITUTION RELATING TO FILLING A VACANCY IN THE OFFICE OF THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR.

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and digest do not provide specific details about how special elections for Lieutenant Governor will be run.

Amending Lieutenant Governor Vacancy Rules

This act proposes a change to the Delaware Constitution that would require special elections for vacancies in the office of Lieutenant Governor, except during certain times.

What This Bill Does

• Proposes an amendment to Article III of the Delaware Constitution about filling a vacancy in the Lieutenant Governor's position.
• Requires a special election when there is a vacancy in the Lieutenant Governor’s office, unless it happens between July 1 and the start date of their term.

Who It Names or Affects

• People who vote in Delaware
• The Lieutenant Governor's office

Terms To Know

Constitutional amendment

A change made to a state’s main set of laws, the constitution.

Special election

An additional election held outside regular voting times.

Limits and Unknowns

• The exact details of how special elections for Lieutenant Governor will be run are not included in this act and will be decided later.
• This amendment needs to pass again after the next general election before it becomes law.

Official Summary Text

AN ACT PROPOSING AN AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE III OF THE DELAWARE CONSTITUTION RELATING TO FILLING A VACANCY IN THE OFFICE OF THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR.
This Act is the first leg of a constitutional amendment to hold a special election when there is a vacancy in the office of Lieutenant Governor, unless that vacancy occurs between July 1 of the year in which the Lieutenant Governor is chosen and the date the Lieutenant Governor’s term begins.

This Act is modeled after the process of holding a special election for a vacancy for a member of the General Assembly. As with special elections for the General Assembly, the details of the special election process for the Lieutenant Governor will be made part of Title 15 by separate legislation introduced along with the second leg of this constitutional amendment in the 154th General Assembly.

This Act requires a greater than majority vote for passage because § 1 of Article XVI of the Delaware Constitution requires the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the General Assembly to amend the Delaware Constitution.

Amending the Delaware Constitution requires not only the passing of the changes in this Act, but also passage of the same changes after the next general election by the next General Assembly.

This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.