New Sussex County House And Senate Seats Approved

Dover — A bill that will change Delaware elections for the next decade passed both chambers of the 146th General Assembly in the closing days of session. The legislation finalizes the reconfiguration of 21 Senatorial and 41 Representative districts to include a new district in the Cape Region in both houses.

Representative District 20 will move from Hockessin in northern New Castle County to Sussex County, where it will include Lewes, Milton and Harbeson. The proposal will also change House District 37 to encompass all of Georgetown, meaning the Hispanic population will rise from more than 17 percent to more than 19 percent.

Senate District 6 will move from northern New Castle County to Sussex County. The district will contain Dewey Beach, Rehoboth Beach, Henlopen Acres, Lewes and Milton. None of Sussex County’s sitting Senators live in the area that will become the new district.

The Senate also modified Republican Sen. Joe Booth’s District 19 to include a Hispanic population of more than 15 percent.

The 50-page bill, which spelled out the boundaries of House and Senate districts, passed the House on June 28. Twenty-six Democrats approved the bill; 10 Republicans voted against passage of the bill and five Republicans did not vote.

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