(Paul Teller and Don Palmer) – This week, Go. Mike Kehoe signed legislation to ban the foreign funding of ballot issue campaigns, making Missouri the ninth state to do so in the past year.
Secure elections are the bedrock of republican democracy. One of the hallmarks of secure elections is the guarantee that foreign influence is minimized to the greatest extent possible.
Although foreign nationals are barred from contributing to political candidates and PACs, regrettably, a loophole exists in federal law that allows foreign citizens to contribute to non-profit 501(c)(4) organizations that spend money in support of or opposition to ballot measures, much of which flows to the Left.
If the government closest to us impacts us the most, the residents of states must decide their respective states’ futures, and it is imperative those decisions are free from foreign influence.
There is now a system in place where a foreign actor is exerting considerable force on the policy decisions of individual states. Here’s how it works: According to Americans for Public Trust, the Sixteen Thirty Fund, which has received a whopping $280 million from left-wing Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss, has invested $130 million into ballot issue campaigns in 25 states since 2014 by taking advantage of loopholes in election laws to bankroll and elevate liberal wish-list items.
In effect, foreign billionaires are allowed to use issue advocacy organizations as a conduit to affect policies through ballot measures in most states.
This has included issues such as abortion in Arizona, Florida, Montana, and Nevada; minimum wage increases in Alaska and Missouri; and election reform designed to harm Republican candidates in Alaska.
Under current law in most states, nothing prevents a billionaire from a foreign adversary like China, Russia or Iran from giving money to a conduit like the Sixteen Thirty Fund, which in turn contributes to ballot issue campaigns.
Point blank, foreign nationals have no business having a real impact on American self-governance.
Thankfully, several states have worked to retake control of their own future.
Opponents of cutting off foreign money from ballot initiatives argue that this violates the right to free speech by restricting organizations from taking donations. Gov. Laura Kelly (D-KS) allowed a bill that bans campaigns for constitutional amendments from accepting foreign funding to become law without her signature, citing concerns that the “bill takes away the ability of Kansans and Kansas businesses to support elections if they accept money from overseas for any purpose, not just those related to elections.”
But these bills do nothing to curtail Americans’ ability to support ballot issue campaigns as they please.
Foreign nationals do not have a right to impact American policy. Noncitizens are already banned from serving on juries, voting, and contributing to political candidates. Why should ballot issue campaigns be any different?
State legislatures have every right to protect the democratic functions of their respective states.
A poll from the University of Maryland School of Public Policy found that nearly 80% of voters support banning foreign entities from funding ballot measures; 77% of Republicans, 84% of Democrats, and 74% of independents are supportive.
Eliminating the loophole that allows foreign donations to pour into state ballot initiatives is a win-win for everyone. It would mean that Americans decide America’s fate; it would secure our elections and restore faith in the democratic process; and it would renew America’s federalist experiment by allowing states to decide their own policies about state operations.
In his farewell address to the nation, President George Washington warned that “foreign influence is one of the most baneful foes of republican government.”
We should all heed his warning and urge state legislators to secure their states’ elections.
Paul Teller is Executive Vice President of Advancing American Freedom. The Honorable Donald Palmer, former Chief Election Official in Virginia and current Commissioner with the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. The views expressed are those solely of the Commissioner and not the Commission as a whole. The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Nevada News & Views.
