LaRose issues statement regarding legislative deliberations over ban on foreign funding of Ohio elections
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose issued the following statement Friday regarding legislative deliberations over a ban on foreign funding of Ohio elections:
“I applaud the General Assembly for moving quickly to close this campaign finance loophole. Ohio’s Constitution expressly prohibits noncitizens from voting in our elections, and foreign billionaires shouldn’t be able to fund campaigns attempting to alter that very document.
“As the legislature completes its work, I need to correct the record on some false statements that will no doubt be repeated about this ban. Several lawmakers have claimed that foreign money in our elections is already illegal under federal law and that those federal restrictions also apply to state campaigns. That assertion is so wrong even Angel Hernandez couldn’t blow the call.
“The United States Supreme Court ruled in a case that originated right here in Ohio (McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Comm'n, 514 U.S. 334) that the Federal Election Campaign Act ‘regulates only candidate elections, not referenda or other issue-based ballot measures.’
Federal law itself defines elections as ‘the process by which individuals, whether opposed or unopposed, seek nomination for election, or election.’ That federal definition does not include state ballot measures. In fact, the Federal Election Commission previously dismissed a complaint against an Australian company that made foreign contributions to a Montana ballot issue committee, citing federal prohibitions apply only to candidate elections, not ballot issues. In a statement explaining the decision, then-Chair Shana Broussard, a Democrat, wrote: ‘Until Congress expands the Act’s foreign national prohibition to encompass state and local ballot activities, which I urge it to do, the Commission is bound by the law as it currently stands.’
“That’s where we are today. We need to plug the hole in Ohio’s campaign finance law to protect our elections from foreign influence. I hope the legislature gets it done and the governor signs it.”
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