In Delaware, Corporations Are Dangerously Close to Acquiring the Right to Vote
In an effort to expand the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision, which gave corporations personhood and free speech rights, Delaware’s Democratic-controlled legislature is considering a Republican bill that would give corporations the right to vote.
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden delivers remarks after attending a virtual coronavirus briefing with medical experts on October 28, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware. (Drew Angerer / Getty Images)
Democratic president Joe Biden has called his home “the corporate state of Delaware,” and Republican senator Mitt Romney has insisted that “corporations are people, my friend.” Embodying that bipartisan spirit in post–Citizens United America, Delaware Democrats are now advancing a Republican bill that would allow corporations to directly vote in a municipal election.
As GOP states across the country aim to limit voter participation, Delaware’s Democratic-controlled legislature has been considering a bill to allow the expansion of the franchise to businesses. The Republican legislation would explicitly permit the city of Seaford, Delaware, “to authorize artificial entities, limited liability corporations’ partnerships and trusts to vote in municipal elections.”
The legislature has until June 30, when the legislative session ends, to vote on the bill.
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