SEAFORD, Del. - A bill to allow businesses to have a vote in Seaford municipal elections passed 35 to six on Friday. The bill would allow artificial entities like corporations, LLCs, and trusts to have a vote just like residents of the city.
The bill, Substitute 1 for House Bill 121, proposes amending the charter of the City of Seaford. If passed, it would adhere to the principle of one person or entity, one vote. It also outlines guidelines for voter qualifications, registration processes, and oversight of elections.
The passage of the bill in the House followed much controversy and even national attention, as voters rights groups have advocated against it, saying it could be the spark to allow businesses to vote and even some individuals to have more than one vote or none at all across the country.
"We're horrified and disappointed that this bill passed. Corporations have no place in our elections, full stop," said Claire Snyder-Hall, executive director of Common Cause Delaware. "In a state with more registered businesses than residents, this bill gives wealthy outsiders the power to override the actual people of Seaford. Hopefully, it will not make it through the Senate."
Seaford Mayor David Genshaw has previously told WRDE that allowing businesses to vote would attract people who want to advance and develop Seaford.
"These are the people we're trying to attract to our community, that we're asking to invest, to hire," Genshaw said. "Why wouldn't we want to give them a right to vote? I find it hard to believe, who wouldn't want that to happen?"
In one of the bill's first committee hearings, one Seaford citizen spoke and raised the question of determining the legitimacy of business owners. An ACLU representative also in attendance criticized the bill, bringing up that it would allow some individuals to vote twice. Other critics have also questioned if the bill would be the first step towards discriminating on the basis of owning property, eventually leading to require property ownership in a town or state to vote there and leaving out those who rent or lease.
Even after concerns, the bill was released from its first committee unanimously, and it was passed in the House on Friday. The bill will now head to the Delaware Senate.
