FEC Affirmed Foreigners Can Fund US Ballot Measures

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) Affirmed that Foreigners can Fund US Ballot Measures because, they're Technically Not Elections. The FEC said it was Legal, in a 4-2 Vote, for an Australian Mining Company to Fund a Ballot Measure Campaign in Montana.

An Expert, however, warned this "goes against the mission of the FEC to protect our elections."

The Federal Election Commission has Affirmed that Foreign Nationals including: Individuals, Corporations, and even Governments, can Legally pour Money into Ballot Measures in States that Don't otherwise Forbid it. That's because they don't Technically Count as Elections under Federal Election Laws, which Foreign Nationals are Barred from Participating in.

FEC Chair Shana Broussard (D) reportedly joined with the Three Republicans, to Dismiss a Complaint filed against an Australian Mining Company that Contributed to a 2018 Anti-Highway Ballot Measure in Montana.

"Are we, as U.S. citizens, really OK with letting foreign money go directly to state lawmaking via citizen initiative campaigns?" said David Brooks, One of the People who brought the Complaint against the Mining Company, in a Statement.

Seven States currently Ban some Version of this Foreign Funding, including: California, Colorado, Maryland, Nevada, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Washington.

The Commission's Legal Analysis of the Case stated that the Federal Election Campaign Act "regulates only candidate elections, not referenda or other issue-based ballot measures" and that "spending relating only to ballot 3 initiatives is generally outside the purview of the Act."

"The FEC has now officially said this is fine, this is okay," said Aaron McKean, Legal Counsel at the Campaign Legal Center, in a brief Interview. "Really, it's pretty upsetting, and it goes against the mission of the FEC to protect our elections."

Commissioner Ellen Weintraub (D), spoke out about the Decision noting that a Fuller Statement would be Released tomorrow. "I voted to protect our nation's ballot initiatives from foreign influence, but my view did not prevail," she wrote. "Ballot initiatives can reach deeply into the laws of a state or locality and directly rewrite both statutes and constitutions. They are vulnerable to manipulation and are deserving of no less protection from foreign influence than are our candidate elections."

While arguably the most Famous Case of Foreign Interference in Elections is Russia's Involvement in the 2016 Election, including Disinformation on Social Media and Hacking into the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Hillary Clinton's Campaign, an effort that led to Charges against Russian Agents, this is far more Straightforward. Foreign Entities now have the Green Light to Directly plunge Millions of Dollars into Campaigns to Change Laws that effect everyday Citizens' Lives.

The FEC Decision clarifies what had previously been an ambiguous area of Campaign Finance Law. In 2015, the Ccommission Deadlocked over whether it was Legal for a Foreign Corporation to Contribute $150,000 to a California Ballot Committee. That led to both a Lack of Enforcement and a Lack of Guidance on whether the Contributions were even Legal in the first place. "It's years later, and we're still having the same problems with foreign money in our elections," said McKean. "And it's something that the FEC could fix by themselves. It's their interpretation of the law that is allowing foreign money to get into our elections."

This kind of Foreign Spending is Banned by Two Major Election Bills supported by Congressional Democrats but continually Blocked by Republicans, the For The People Act and the Freedom to Vote Act. "The important thing here is that people at all levels of government recognize this is the problem," said McKean. "This is self-governance."

Maine recently tried to Ban Foreign Contributions to Ballot Committees after a Canadian Government-owned Public Utility spent nearly $10 Million on a Ballot Measure there. Gov. Janet Mills (D), Vetoed it, saying that "entities with direct foreign investment employ thousands of Mainers" and that Banning Spending by the Companies "is offensive to the democratic process."

"There are state laws, there are local laws that are trying to patch up these loopholes," said McKean. "And it really hurts when the FEC essentially blesses this loophole."










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