Here’s what you need to know for Delaware’s 2022 midterm elections

The 2022 election in Delaware doesn’t have national eyes on it, but it has one US representative race in November, a couple of state level races and some county and district level races.

Midterms may seem less important than presidential election years, but if we’ve learned anything over the last few years, it’s that voting matters, even when the elections are lower-turnout events.

We saw the politicization of school board elections last spring, which until recently were “apolitical” races, with candidates running by district, not party. Now school board elections are political battlegrounds, as are races for positions like attorney general.

Who’s on the ballot in Delaware?

This year, the primaries on Sept. 13 have more than 40 state Senate and House candidates up for voting. Don’t get overwhelmed — you may or may not have any of them on your primary ballot, depending on your political party and your districts. (Candidates in parties you are not registered to won’t appear on your ballot.)

You can find a full list on candidates on Delaware’s Department of Elections website, and couple it with the Delaware district lookup tool. There are also resources such as Vote411.org and Ballotpedia that will show you what your ballot will look like on primary day for easier navigation, and you can also use those sites to research candidate platforms.

Races to look out for:

• The only statewide primary election this year is the Democrat auditor of accounts race between Kathleen K. McGuiness and Lydia York.
• The Delaware general election will be held on Nov. 8, with one US Congress race: Incumbent Democrat Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester, unchallenged in the primaries, will run against Republican Lee Murphy, with Libertarian Cody McNutt and nonpartisan David Rogers also on the ballot.
• Also in the general, Incumbent Attorney General Kathleen Jennings, a Democrat, will run against Republican Julianne E. Murray; Democrat Colleen Davis and Republican Greg Coverdale will be on the ballot for State Treasurer; and Republican Janice Lorrah will run against the candidate that wins the Democratic primary for auditor of accounts.

State legislature seats will be on your general election ballot based on your districts. Other positions up for vote, depending on your county, include sheriff, a couple of county council seats, recorder of deeds and register of wills.

When can I vote in Delaware?

Delaware has early in-person voting, drop boxes and mail-in voting. Early voting starts at 11 a.m. on Aug. 31 and continues daily (except for Sunday, Aug. 4 and Monday, Aug. 5) through Sept. 11.

Note that with early voting, there are just a few polling places in each county rather than the assigned polling places on Election Day. For example, if you live anywhere in Wilmington, your nearest polling place for early voting will be the Shipyard Shops on the Riverfront, and in Newark, it’s Hudson State Service Center.

You can request a mail-in ballot with no reason needed, but you must do so no later than seven days before the election. If you requested and received a mail-in ballot and prefer to return your ballot by secure dropbox, locations are open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. during the early voting period. Votes may be mailed as early as 30 days prior to the election.

To vote on primary and general election Days, you have to vote at your assigned location. Registered Delaware voters should have received a postcard this month with their polling location, or you can look it up at ivote.de.gov.