What you need to know about voting in Delaware's Tuesday presidential primary

Delaware's presidential primary on Tuesday will be the first one in which all registered voters in the state will have a chance to vote from home.

And it's also the first time Delaware voters will see Joe Biden's name on a ballot as a viable Democratic nominee for president.

New rules for the election were established under the state of emergency order by Gov. John Carney to help voters who don't want to risk contracting or spreading coronavirus at the polls. Voters can still go to a limited number of polling places on Tuesday where they are expected to wear a mask and practice social distancing.

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday. The only candidates to vote for in this election are for president of the United States. The Republican and Democratic winners will go head-to-head in the November general election.

Because it's a closed primary, voters either have to be a registered Democrat or Republican to participate. The deadlines to register and to switch parties for this election have passed.

There's still time to vote from home on election day

Registered voters for this election should have received an absentee ballot application in the mail, per a coronavirus state of emergency rule change from Carney in May. The Elections Department didn't send ballots to those who had already requested an absentee ballot before the rule change.

If you received your absentee ballot from the elections department, you can either fax, email or drop the ballot off at the elections office in your county before 8 p.m. Voters shouldn't try to mail their ballot at this point because it's not guaranteed to get into the hands of elections officials on time.

Delaware was briefly allowing voters to submit their ballots online for this election, but that option was discontinued in mid-June. Voters who submitted their ballots online before it was discontinued will still have their votes counted, according to Elections Commissioner Anthony Albence.

Albence said the department didn't experience any issues with the system that allowed voters to submit ballots online, but decided to discontinue it out of "an abundance of caution" in light of "security concerns." The department doesn't plan to reinstate that voting method this year, he said.

If you don't already have your absentee ballot, it's too late to vote from home and your only option is to vote in person for this election. The Department of Elections stopped issuing absentee ballots at noon on Monday.

Related:Delaware residents will be able to vote by mail in 2020 as bill becomes law

Some but not all polling places will be open

While any registered Democrats or Republicans can vote from home, they can also still vote in person. But if you decide to go that route, expect some changes to where you can cast your vote.

More than two-thirds of the state's polling places will be closed for this election, leaving about 80 open across the state on Tuesday as opposed to the usual 286. Since there are fewer open polling places, voters can go to any polling place in their county instead of only being able to go to the one they are assigned to.

Story continues below list of polling places

The Elections Department plans to thoroughly clean voting machines and poll books to combat the spread of coronavirus. It will also be enforcing social distancing, and poll workers will have personal protective equipment, according to Albence.

This will also be the first statewide election that Delaware will use its new voting machines, which were already were used in some school and municipal elections. 

The new machines use a paper ballot. Albence said this is an extra safeguard in a time when voters are increasingly concerned about election security. The paper ballot has no identifiable information, which keeps voting choices private.

Here's who you can vote for

These are the candidates on the ballot for the presidential primary:

DEMOCRATIC PARTY

• Joe Biden
• Bernie Sanders
• Elizabeth Warren

REPUBLICAN PARTY

• Roque "Rocky" De La Fuente
• Donald Trump

How can I get more information on voting?

Delawareans can visit ivote.de.gov or the Delaware Department of Elections website at elections.delaware.gov for more information.

If you don't have a computer, you can call the Department of Elections for more information on how to get ready for election day:

• Office of the State Election Commissioner: (302) 739-4277
• Kent County Office: (302) 739-4498
• New Castle County Office: (302) 577-3464
• Sussex County Office: (302) 856-5367

You'll also be able to vote from home in the fall elections

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, Delaware lawmakers in June were able to pass a bill to allow mail-in voting for all 2020 elections.

Registered voters can expect ballot applications in the mail for the state primary on September 15 and the general election on November 3. The state will pay for the postage for the applications and the ballot return envelopes.

LAWMAKERS ALLOW VOTING FROM HOME IN 2020:Delaware residents will be able to vote by mail in 2020 as bill becomes law

Unlike in the Tuesday presidential primary, the elections department plans to have all polling places open for the fall elections.

Delaware has allowed this type of voting for people who are sick or physically disabled since 2012, as well as for military and overseas voters since 2010, according to Albence.

But the new vote-from-home protocol has raised concerns over election interference and fraud. Albence defended the new rules and said that the department is continuing its current practices for absentee ballots.

"We are very confident in the system," Albence said.

Sarah Gamard covers government and politics for Delaware Online/The News Journal. You can reach her at (302) 324-2281 or sgamard@delawareonline.com. You can also follow her on Twitter @SarahGamard.