Election Information

The Annual City of Lewes Municipal Election is held on the Second Saturday of May starting at 8:00 am until 6:00 pm and shall be in compliance with the applicable provision of 15 Del. C. § 7501, et seq.

The 2020 Annual Election will be held on Saturday May 9, 2020 from 8:00 am until 6:00 pm at Lewes City Hall, 114 E. Third Street, Lewes DE 19958 in Council Chambers.

SOLICITATION OF CANDIDATES

Persons wishing to run for City Council must file a Candidate Filing Form with the City Manager’s Office no later than 4:30 pm on Thursday April 2, 2020. The form can be found on the City’s website or by coming into City Hall. 

CANDIDATE FILE FORM

(City of Lewes Charter Section 5)
The qualifications for Mayor and for City Council Person at the time of this election shall be as follows:

  • A bona fide citizen of the United States and of the State of Delaware and a resident of The City of Lewes for at least one (1) year next preceding the date of the annual election.
  • At least twenty-one (21) years of age; and
  • Shall not have been convicted of a felony.
  • Each of the qualifications for the Mayor and for the City Council Persons shall be continuing qualifications to hold office, and the failure of either the Mayor or any of the City council Persons to have any of the qualifications required by this section during his term of office shall create a vacancy in the office.
  • A candidate for Mayor shall have been a qualified voter of the City of Lewes for at least one year prior to the date of the election.

NOTE:    In the event that no person files or is nominated for each office for which an election is to be held within the time set forth in  Section 6 of the Charter, the incumbent shall be deemed to be re-elected for a full term, and it shall not be necessary to hold an election.

QUALIFIED VOTERS

(City of Lewes Charter Section 7)
A qualified voter must be 18 years of age by the date of the Annual Municipal Election and shall be a citizen of the United State and a citizen of the City of Lewes and must be registered in the Books of Registered Voters of the City of Lewes.  For the purposes of qualification, a citizen of the City of Lewes shall be deemed in included any persons who is a qualified voter of the State of Delaware and is a bona fide (full-time) resident of the City of Lewes.

No person shall be registered upon the Books of Registered Voters unless he will have acquired the qualification to vote in the Annual Municipal Election for the year in which he registers. A person shall be required to register only one (1) time, however, if the registered voter fails to vote in two (2) consecutive annual elections, his name shall be removed from the Books of Registered Voters and notice be sent, to the last address on record by registered mail with a return receipt advising that his name has been removed and it will be necessary to register again to vote in the next annual election.

The deadline for registering to vote in this year’s election will be 4:30 pm on Friday April 24, 2020.  Voter registration must be completed at Lewes City Hall, Monday through Friday 8:30 am until 4:00 pm. 

Additional voter registration will be held on Saturday, April 18, 2020 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm.