{"id":203,"date":"2026-05-28T21:09:06","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T21:09:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=203"},"modified":"2026-05-28T21:09:06","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T21:09:06","slug":"delaware-judge-upholds-town-charter-that-allows-corporations-to-vote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=203","title":{"rendered":"Delaware Judge Upholds Town Charter That Allows Corporations to Vote"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Truthout is an indispensable resource for activists, movement leaders and workers everywhere. Please make this work possible with a <\/span><\/i>quick donation<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Read more Student Journalist Awarded by CBS Condemns Network\u2019s Shift Right at News Emmys<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

A Delaware judge has ruled in favor of allowing a township in the state to continue counting corporations and other nonliving entities as legitimate voters in its municipal elections.<\/p>\n

Since 1953, the beachside township of Fenwick Island has allowed voting by nonresident property owners. In 2008, the township amended its charter to allow corporations and trusts in the state, with properties in the town, to cast votes as well. <\/p>\n

Last year, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Delaware sued the township, alleging that its voting system diluted the voting rights of actual living voters. <\/p>\n

\u201cWith over 2 million business entities incorporated in Delaware \u2014 roughly double the amount of actual people living in the state \u2014 the people of Delaware risk having their voices drowned out when towns like Fenwick Island allow corporate voting,\u201d the ACLU of Delaware said in its statement announcing its lawsuit.<\/p>\n

However, earlier this week, Delaware Superior Court Judge Craig A. Karsnitz dismissed the lawsuit, finding that the township had the right under the state constitution to allow its unusual approach to voting.<\/p>\n

Karsnitz appeared sympathetic to the lawsuit, noting that \u201cvisions of faceless large corporations or even HAL controlling a small town are frightening and the stuff of science fiction.\u201d But ultimately, he ruled that \u201ctrusts, partnerships, limited liability companies, and corporations are expressly recognized as \u2018persons\u2019 in the Delaware Code.\u201d<\/p>\n

Upon the issuance of his ruling, the ACLU of Delaware announced that it is \u201ccurrently reviewing the Court\u2019s decision for next steps.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Workers, Students, and Indigenous Movements Shut Down Bolivia in Popular Rebellion<\/a><\/p>\n

Roughly one in eight \u201cvoters\u201d in Fenwick Island are artificial entities (e.g., nonliving trusts, corporations, etc.). Although the ruling in no way relates to the Supreme Court\u2019s Citizens United <\/em>decision in 2010, many critics on social media took note of that infamous ruling, comparing its \u201ccorporations are people\u201d finding to being similar in scope to Fenwick Island\u2019s personification of corporate entities to include them in its elections.<\/p>\n

Demand Justice, a progressive legal advocacy organization, panned the ruling.<\/p>\n

\u201cCorporations aren\u2019t people. They don\u2019t have kids in local schools, they don\u2019t drink the water, they can\u2019t be jailed for crimes, and they shouldn\u2019t get a vote,\u201d the organization said on its X account. <\/p>\n

Karsnitz\u2019s ruling may run afoul of federal law, most notably Article IV, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution. According to one of the clauses of that section:<\/p>\n

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The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

A republican government is generally understood to be composed of people selecting lawmakers to govern on their behalf. Indeed, in \u201cFederalist No. 39,\u201d constitutional architect James Madison argued against governments that propped one class of people above another, which could arguably apply to corporations having voting power.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe may define a republic to be, or at least may bestow that name on, a government which derives all its powers directly or indirectly from the great body of the people, and is administered by persons holding their offices during pleasure, for a limited period, or during good behavior,\u201d Madison wrote.<\/p>\n

He added:<\/p>\n

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It is ESSENTIAL to such a government that it be derived from the great body of the society, not from an inconsiderable proportion, or a favored class of it; otherwise a handful of tyrannical nobles, exercising their oppressions by a delegation of their powers, might aspire to the rank of republicans, and claim for their government the honorable title of republic.<\/p>\n

Read more New York Passes State Budget With No Funds to Support Access to Transgender Care<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Roughly one in eight \u201cvoters\u201d in the town of Fenwick Island are \u201cnonliving\u201d entities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":202,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nDelaware Judge Upholds Town Charter That Allows Corporations to Vote - Smart Moving Home<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=203\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Delaware Judge Upholds Town Charter That Allows Corporations to Vote - Smart Moving Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Roughly one in eight \u201cvoters\u201d in the town of Fenwick Island are \u201cnonliving\u201d entities.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/smartmovinghome.com\/?p=203\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Smart Moving Home\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-28T21:09:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=203#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=203\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/ec0d70042821fd684a174c8d0e8becfa\"},\"headline\":\"Delaware Judge Upholds Town Charter That Allows Corporations to Vote\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-28T21:09:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=203\"},\"wordCount\":643,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=203#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/bd3b33eaa4b2723d1b6a1bc1ec5aff25.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=203#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=203\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smartmovinghome.com\\\/?p=203\",\"name\":\"Delaware Judge Upholds Town Charter That Allows Corporations to Vote - 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