Oh, Delaware: It Was A Joke, Not A Challenge

Now the corporations vote,
To rule good old Delaware.

In one of the early posts on this blog, I made a joke about Citizen’s United meaning that corporations would get the vote one day.

It was a joke.

I said:

corporations can now hold religious and political views, have expressive First Amendment rights that can’t be infringed and will probably get the vote as soon as the idea occurs to some idiot lawyer with time on his hands

I didn’t actually think it was likely that anyone would start arguing for that.

Delaware: hold my beer.

It turns out that those idiot lawyers are “Luke W. Mette, Esquire, Joseph Grubb, Esquire, Mark A. Denney, Esquire”, and also Delaware Superior Court Judge Craig Karsnitz.

This was in the news a lot last week for Karsnitz’ ruling that corporations do, in fact, get to vote in Delaware.

Apparently it’s a thing there that towns can let various kind of legal entities vote in their elections, if they own property in that town.

That is overwhelmingly stupid, and bad

But it could be much worse.

Karsnitz ruled that a jurisdiction allowing corporations to vote is all legal and above-board; he did not rule that any jurisdictions is required to let corporations vote.

So it can still get worse.