Hawaii Just Outlawed Corporate Involvement In Elections, Seriously Undermining Dark Money Super PACs
The idea is that Citizens United protects the right of corporations to free speech. But for 200 years now it has been the law of the land that corporations exist at the whim of the states. Moore cites Chief Justice John Marshall stating in 1819 in Dartmouth v. Woodward that:
A corporation is an artificial being, invisible, intangible, and existing only in contemplation of law. Being the mere creature of law, it possesses only those properties which the charter of its creation confers upon it, either expressly, or as incidental to its very existence … The objects for which a corporation is created are universally such as the government wishes to promote. They are deemed beneficial to the country; and this benefit constitutes the consideration, and, in most cases, the sole consideration of the grant.
So, what this means is that states have the power to define what a corporation is via their charter and that gives them the power to define corporations as entities which do not participate in elections. From the American Prospect piece:
“But corporations were, and continue to be, created by state law, as were their powers,” [state Sen. Jarrett] Keohokalole continues. “They are not irrevocable. State charters give corporations limited liability for their founders and owners; they make them eligible for specific kinds of tax breaks, and so on. This legislation clarifies that the powers and privileges granted under Hawaiian law to corporations do not include electioneering.”
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/5/24/800043936/community/tom-moore-at-cap-here-is-how-states-can-beat/#google_vignette
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