On February 1, 2010, Delaware Governor Jack Markell signed HB 245 into law. Among other things, it doubled the number of registered voters a party must have to be ballot-qualified, and it went into effect immediately.

The bill instantly removed several minor parties from the ballot, including the Constitution, Green, and Working Families Parties. They could still regain that status if they increase their registration, but it will not be easy to do it in a limited amount of time. Courts in other states have ruled that it violates due process for states to increase the ballot access requirements in an election year, if the new tougher requirement goes into effect immediately. On March 17, representatives of several minor parties appeared at the Delaware state capitol and got publicity for their argument that the new requirements should not go into effect this year. See this story. Thanks to Bill Van Allen for the link.