No Labels must have access to ballots
Like all officeholders in our state, Election Commissioner Anthony Albence took an oath to serve Delaware faithfully in accordance with the state and federal constitutions. Unfortunately, he has decided to break that oath by putting his party’s interests over the rights of Delaware voters.
Albence is attempting to block our group, No Labels Delaware, from gaining ballot access in the state. No Labels’ work in Delaware is part of our nationwide effort to secure a ballot line that we could potentially offer to a Unity presidential ticket in 2024, featuring a Republican and Democrat as running mates. We’re undertaking this work on behalf of the majority of Americans and Delawareans who are unsatisfied with their two likely choices for president and are demanding another option.
Unfortunately, many partisans have proven they will stop at nothing to prevent that option from being offered. Albence is now engaged in a clear and shameful attempt to eliminate competition for President Joe Biden in his home state.
Albence wants to block No Labels Delaware from the ballot on the pretext of a ridiculously thin accusation, based on a handful of phone calls and an anonymous tip from a reporter, that No Labels Delaware is “tricking” voters during the registration process. Never mind that we use best-in-class measures to prevent confusion among all voters we register, such as having organizers wear T-shirts that say “THIS IS NOT A PETITION” and requiring them to complete multiple rounds of training. We also use only the official form, published by the commissioner, that features “All-in-One Form to Register to Vote” in bold at the top.
These measures are exactly why Albence can only identify a handful of potential instances of voter confusion out of the 1,316 registrations we have successfully submitted. A 1% to 2% misunderstanding rate does not invalidate the other 98% of our registered voters and does not constitute a sufficient basis for disqualification. To assert otherwise is absurd.
Even worse, Albence is trying to change the rules of how to register voters in order to make it impossible for No Labels Delaware to succeed. State law mandates that we register party members to secure ballot access, but he claims we cannot proactively approach or ask voters to register with us, and that the voters must approach us instead. This is an outrageous violation of our most basic First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and association. It also poses a clear catch-22 by making No Labels unable to qualify for the ballot and yet unable to do anything that would allow us to qualify. And that, of course, is exactly how Albence wants it.
His actions make a mockery of the democratic process and Americans’ constitutional right to influence the ballot. It is a clear misuse of government power to shut down electoral competition and secure advantages for his own party, and a terrible look for the president’s home state. I believe Biden has an obligation to intervene and stand up for the rights of Delaware voters. If he chooses to stand idly by while his party rigs ballots in his favor, he’ll lose any credibility in his moralizing about defending democracy.
Ben duPont is co-chair of No Labels Delaware.