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Trio of courts rule with AG Jennings on voting rights

Department of Justice | Department of Justice Office of Impact Litigation | Department of Justice Press Releases | Date Posted: Wednesday, September 9, 2026

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Three courts have sided with Delaware to protect the state’s elections and campaign finance rules.

“Each of these attempts to strip away Delawareans’ voting rights and to obfuscate campaign spending are part of a shameless, coordinated attack against the fabric of our democracy,” said Attorney General Kathy Jennings. “No idea that requires silence to survive has any place in a democracy – but that is precisely the fight we’re having: in statehouses and courthouses alike, extremists are trying to empower losing ideas by eroding the right to vote itself. They will not succeed.”

Third Circuit denies Koch network’s appeal in dark money case

On Monday, August 31, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit denied an interlocutory appeal from the Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFP), a Koch family-affiliated campaign group, which sued AG Jennings and Elections Commissioner Anthony Albence to nullify the state’s disclosure rules for third-party campaign advertisers.

State law defines as people or groups spending $500 or more to assist in the election of any candidate or in connection with any election campaign. The Koch lawsuit attempted to target one of the few shreds of regulation that Citizens United left intact: a requirement to disclose the identities of individuals or groups that contribute more than $100 to support independent expenditure spending in Delaware elections.

In June, a federal judge denied AFP’s request for a preliminary injunction on the basis that AFP was unlikely to succeed in the case in chief. The Koch network subsequently attempted to appeal that ruling; Monday’s denial returns the case to the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware.

Court of Chancery shuts down Republican legislator’s about-face on permanent absentee voting

On Friday, September 4, Delaware’s Court of Chancery categorically denied State Sen. Gerald Hocker’s challenge against the State’s permanent absentee voting law (a law he once voted to pass) issuing a summary judgment in the State’s favor. Hocker lost a nearly identical lawsuit in 2024 under a unanimous ruling by the Delaware Supreme Court. Tens of thousands of Delawareans—overwhelmingly veterans, senior citizens, people with disabilities, and caregivers— rely on permanent absentee voting.

The best way for qualifying voters to ensure that they receive an absentee ballot for the 2026 general election, is to submit an application for this election in particular – even voters who are already qualified to vote absentee on a permanent basis.

Federal court grants preliminary injunction against Trump’s USPS ruling

On Friday, September 4, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts issued a preliminary injunction blocking a new rule issued on August 21 by the United States Postal Service (USPS) that would have imposed burdensome requirements on vote-by-mail systems ahead of the November 3 midterm elections while the coalition’s lawsuit challenging the rule proceeds.

The order blocks USPS from requiring states to obtain the federal government’s approval for new ballot and return-envelope designs; register for a new USPS portal for tracking voter information (which is not yet operational); input information for each of their state’s mail voters into the portal; and comply with other provisions.