# Delaware HB 444: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 15 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DELAWARE JOHN LEWIS VOTING RIGHTS ACT. Delaware HB 444, AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 15 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DELAWARE JOHN LEWIS VOTING RIGHTS ACT., is a 153rd General Assembly (2024–2026) House bill sponsored by Larry Lambert (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-08-06 (Signed by Governor) (as of 2026-10-11). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/DE-HB444-153 - As of: 2026-10-11 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Delaware HB 444 - State: Delaware - Session: 153rd General Assembly (2024–2026) - Title: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 15 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DELAWARE JOHN LEWIS VOTING RIGHTS ACT. - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2026-06-04 - Last action: 2026-08-06, Signed by Governor - Sponsor: Larry Lambert (Democratic) - Cosponsors: 26 - Touches household money: no - Roll calls: 2 (50 yes, 11 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 8 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - More language help for Delaware voters: benefit, medium. Local election offices must provide language help when more than 2% of voting-age citizens—and at least 100—need the same non-English language, or more than 1,000 do. Limited English ability means speaking, reading, or understanding English less than “very well.” The Department of Elections publish… - More ways to enforce voting rights: benefit, medium. Affected people, qualifying organizations, and Delaware’s Attorney General can sue; members of different protected groups can file together. Organizations can qualify through their members, mission, resources, or advocacy and generally need not reveal members’ names. Courts can protect confidential… - Stronger voting access for minority voters: benefit, medium. The law protects racial, color, and language-minority groups, including qualifying combined groups, across state and local election rules. Officials cannot use practices that cause, or likely cause, major gaps in these groups’ voting access or participation. Voters do not need to prove intent to di… - Stronger voting power for minority voters: benefit, medium. Local governments cannot use election methods that weaken racial, color, or language-minority voters’ equal chance to choose candidates. A claim can rest on voting patterns divided by race or the full set of relevant circumstances. A legally available change must likely reduce the harm to voters’ a… - Voters gain protection from election interference: benefit, medium. No person may intimidate, deceive, or obstruct voters in ways that interfere with voting or reasonably threaten such interference. The ban covers force, threats, and reckless false messages about election logistics or eligibility. It also covers blocking access to polling places, election offices,… - Voters get hearings on election fixes: benefit, low. After a notice letter, complaint, or lawsuit, local governments planning voluntary election changes must hold at least one public hearing. They must publish notice at least three weeks ahead and reach out to affected groups, including language-minority groups. After adopting a remedy, they must hol… - Voting remedies bring fees and damages: mixed, medium. Courts must order tailored relief for violations, including extra time to vote when appropriate. Remedies can change districts, election methods, body size, staggered elections, voting sites or hours, voter rolls, and education, or require special elections. Changes must reach the next relevant ele… - Voting notice senders can recover costs: mixed, low. A sender of a qualifying notice letter can seek repayment when a local government then voluntarily changes an election rule. The local government pays reasonable costs of producing and sending the letter. Claims are capped at $60,000, adjusted for changes in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban C… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Larry Lambert (Democratic), House - Cosponsor: Alonna Berry (Democratic), House - Cosponsor: Stephanie T. Bolden (Democratic), House - Cosponsor: Frank Burns (Democratic), House - Cosponsor: William Bush (Democratic), House - Cosponsor: Nnamdi O. Chukwuocha (Democratic), House - Cosponsor: Franklin D. Cooke (Democratic), House - Cosponsor: Daniel Cruce (Democratic), Senate - Cosponsor: Mara Gorman (Democratic), House - Cosponsor: Krista Griffith (Democratic), House - Cosponsor: Kerri Evelyn Harris (Democratic), House - Cosponsor: Kyra L. Hoffner (Democratic), Senate - Cosponsor: Russell Huxtable (Democratic), Senate - Cosponsor: Kimberly Williams (Democratic), House - Cosponsor: Kamela T Smith (Democratic), House - Cosponsor: S. Elizabeth Lockman (Democratic), Senate - Cosponsor: Melissa Minor-Brown (Democratic), House - Cosponsor: Eric Morrison (Democratic), House - Cosponsor: DeShanna U Neal (Democratic), House - Cosponsor: Josue O Ortega (Democratic), House - Cosponsor: Sophie Phillips (Democratic), House - Cosponsor: Marie Pinkney (Democratic), Senate - Cosponsor: Bryant L. Richardson (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: Cyndie Romer (Democratic), House - Cosponsor: Melanie Ross Levin (Democratic), House - Cosponsor: Ray Seigfried (Democratic), Senate - Cosponsor: David P. Sokola (Democratic), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-06-30 | Senate | Passed (SM required) | pass | 21 | 0 | | | 2026-06-18 | House | Passed (SM required) | pass | 29 | 11 | | ## Actions (13) - 2026-08-06: Signed by Governor (Governor) - 2026-06-30: Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES (Senate) - 2026-06-30: Reported Out of Committee (Finance) in Senate with 4 On Its Merits (Senate) - 2026-06-25: Assigned to Finance Committee in Senate (Senate) - 2026-06-25: Reported Out of Committee (Elections & Government Affairs) in Senate with 1 Favorable, 3 On Its Merits (Senate) - 2026-06-18: Assigned to Elections & Government Affairs Committee in Senate (Senate) - 2026-06-18: Passed By House. Votes: 29 YES 11 NO 1 ABSENT (House) - 2026-06-18: Amendment HA 1 to HB 444 - Passed In House by Voice Vote (House) - 2026-06-18: Amendment HA 1 to HB 444 - Introduced and Placed With Bill (House) - 2026-06-16: Reported Out of Committee (Appropriations) in House with 3 Favorable, 3 On Its Merits (House) - 2026-06-11: Assigned to Appropriations Committee in House (House) - 2026-06-10: Reported Out of Committee (Elections & Government Affairs) in House with 4 On Its Merits (House) - 2026-06-04: Introduced and Assigned to Elections & Government Affairs Committee in House (House) ## Bill text - Current, 2026-06-04: [HTML](https://legis.delaware.gov/json/BillDetail/GenerateHtmlDocument?legislationId=143415&legislationTypeId=1&docTypeId=2) ## Related bills - HS 1 for HB 449: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 24 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DIETITIAN/NUTRITIONIST LICENSURE ACT. (passed house) - HB 357: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 10 AND 13 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DUTY TO SUPPORT POOR PERSONS. (signed) - SB 231: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKERS. (vetoed) - SB 279: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SCHOOL-BASED OCCUPATIONAL THERAPISTS. (vetoed) - HB 393: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 26 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PROTECTIONS FOR PUBLIC UTILITY CONSUMERS. (vetoed) - HB 356: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PFAS IN FIREFIGHTING FOAM AND EQUIPMENT. (failed) ## Sources - [Current (HTML)](https://legis.delaware.gov/json/BillDetail/GenerateHtmlDocument?legislationId=143415&legislationTypeId=1&docTypeId=2) ## Related - [HS 1 for HB 449: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 24 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DIETITIAN/NUTRITI…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/DE-HS1FORHB449-153) - [HB 357: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 10 AND 13 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DUTY TO S…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/DE-HB357-153) - [SB 231: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKERS.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/DE-SB231-153) - [SB 279: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 14 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO SCHOOL-BASED OCCUPATI…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/DE-SB279-153) - [HB 393: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 26 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PROTECTIONS FOR PUBLI…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/DE-HB393-153) - [HB 356: AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PFAS IN FIREFIGHTING…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/DE-HB356-153) - [Delaware bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/delaware/bills) - [Delaware state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/delaware) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/DE-HB444-153 (as of 2026-10-11).