Bryan Townsend
- Democratic
- Senator
- District 11
Primary
This Act removes the requirement that applicants for a marriage license state their race as part of the application process. Delaware is one of a small number of states that currently requires this information. In October 2019, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia ruled that requiring marriage license applicants to provide their race violates the United States Constitution. In Delaware, the Clerks of the Peace, who are the points of data collection, have expressed support for this Act, as has the Office of Vital Statistics in the Department of Health and Social Services. The National Center for Health Statistics ("NCHS") has not requested detailed information from states regarding marriage and divorce since 1996. NCHS only requires states to provide the total number of marriages that occur each month.
Signed by Governor
Passed By House. Votes: 41 YES
Suspension of Rules in Senate
Reported Out of Committee (Housing & Community Affairs) in House with 7 On Its Merits
Assigned to Housing & Community Affairs Committee in House
Passed By Senate. Votes: 20 YES 1 ABSENT
Reported Out of Committee (Health & Social Services) in Senate with 4 Favorable
Introduced and Assigned to Health & Social Services Committee in Senate
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