Case Summary
LWVDE filed an amicus brief in the Delaware Supreme Court supporting a lawsuit against a municipal law that allowed corporations to vote in local elections. The brief asserted the law violated the state constitution’s Elections Clause by creating additional voting rights for some groups and was also illegal under the Equal Protection Clause.
The town charter of Fenwick Island, Delaware, allows corporations and other non-human artificial entities to cast vote in local elections, stating,
“Every property owner as of March 1 prior to the annual municipal election, whether a natural person or artificial entity, including but not limited to corporations, partnerships, trusts, and limited liability companies, and who is registered to vote, if provided by ordinance, shall have one (1) vote. or before the date of the election. [...] An artificial entity shall be a domestic entity in the State of Delaware.”
On December 4, 2025, the ACLU of Delaware (“ACLU-DE”) filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of the State of Delaware, asserting this provision was unconstitutional under the Elections Clause of the Delaware state constitution, which guarantees free and equal elections. The plaintiff asked the court to forbid any further voting by non-human artificial entities in the town’s elections.
On May 26, 2026, the court dismissed the case, ruling that allowing corporations to vote in town elections did not mean the elections were neither free nor equal under the state constitution. According to the trial court, free elections were those that did not contain fraud, voter intimidation, bribery, or improper voting barriers. Since none of these were present in Fenwick Island, and that each natural eligible person received one vote, just like each artificial entity, received one vote, there was no unequal election.
ACLU-DE then appealed to the state supreme court on June 4, 2026. On July 23, 2026, the League of Women Voters of Delaware (“LWVDE”) filed an amicus brief supporting ACLU-DE’s appeal. LWVDE argued that the constitution did not protect corporations’ or economic interests’ right to vote and that only natural persons fell under its voting protections. Furthermore, LWVDE pointed out that corporations and other artificial entities were different from humans; a single person could control an unlimited number of artificial entities and corporations, unlike persons, could not be imprisoned for violating the law. The brief also asserted that allowing artificial entities to vote violated the “one person, one vote” rule enshrined by the Equal Protection Clause. For example, one person might cast one vote under the charter, but they could have multiple votes by placing their property in a trust and casting an extra vote through that trust.
Finally, LWVDE argued that the charter violated the state constitution’s Elections Clause by creating additional voting rights for some groups, i.e., owners who place their property in legal entities, and gave them extra votes. LWVDE asked the state supreme court to reverse the trial court’s ruling.
LWVDE was represented in this matter by Billion Law and Free Speech for People.
LWV Timeline
Plaintiffs file lawsuit
ACLU-DE files a lawsuit in the Delaware Superior Court, asserting a provision of Fenwick Island’s town charter allowing corporations and other artificial entities to vote in municipal elections violates the state constitution.
Trial court dismisses case
The trial court grants defendant’s motion to dismiss, ruling that allowing artificial entities to vote in Fenwick Island’s local elections did not violate the definition of free and equal elections under state law.
Plaintiff appeals
ACLU-DE appeals the trial court’s ruling to the Delaware Supreme Court.
LWVDE files amicus brief
LWVDE files an amicus brief in the state supreme court supporting the ACLU’s appeal. The brief argues that artificial entities voting in Fenwick Island’s municipal elections violate the federal and state constitutions and unlawfully creates extra voting rights for some.