Residents of Humboldt County, California have made history with their vote to abolish the legal doctrine known as "corporate personhood," which under U.S. law, allows corporations the same rights as a single composite individual for certain purposes, or in some jurisdictions.

An all-volunteer campaign came together to help pass a law that bans non-local corporations from participating in Humboldt elections. The referendum, which passed with 55 percent of the vote, also asserts that corporations cannot claim the First Amendment right to free speech.

According to Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap, director of Democracy Unlimited and campaign co-manager for Measure T, “We polled our community and found that 78 percent believe corruption is more likely if corporations participate in politics.”

Organizers of the campaign say their law was written using a consensus process, and that the advice of volunteers was valued just as highly as input from experts and consultants. The local Democratic and Green Parties formally endorsed the effort, and were joined by organized labor and peace, justice, and environmental protection groups.

Their primary outreach tool was a tea bag that reminded voters of the history of the Boston Tea Party as an act of rebellion against the most powerful corporation of the day, the East India Company, and called for a modern-day “T(ea) Party” of their own.