Attempts to Corporatize Voting in Delaware Reveal New Threat to American Democracy

This is an excerpt of an opinion article written by Rev. Al Sharpton for the Messenger. To read the full article, click here. 

Imagine changing the preamble to the U.S. Constitution to read:

“We the Corporations of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Deal for Business, establish unlivable wages, ensure company profits, provide substandard work conditions, and secure the Blessings of Billions in Posterity to CEOs and the wealthy elite, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the Corporate States of America.”

Crazy? Think again. It’s not far from the position of a majority of Delaware lawmakers, whose recent attempt to secure voting rights for corporations in the town of Seaford shows how the First State now chooses to honor its moniker.

Hyperbole aside, last month, the Delaware General Assembly passed a measure to amend Seaford’s town charter to allow corporations, partnerships, and limited liability corporations to cast votes in municipal elections the same way an eligible voter does.