Key Points
- The FEC has given the go-ahead to foreign nationals to finance U.S. referendum campaigns.
- Non-U.S. Residents can support ballot committees which may directly influence policy.
- FEC Commissioner Ellen Weintraub voted against it but her view “did not prevail.”
You could fly a Boeing 747 through this loophole.
According to Axios, the Federal Election Commission has given the go-ahead to foreign nationals to “finance U.S. referendum campaigns, opening the door to foreign spending on fights over high-profile policy issues.”
They still can’t donate to candidates or committees, but the potential damage to our democratic process is considerable. Non-U.S. Residents can support ballot committees which, “provides another avenue for foreigners to directly influence U.S. voters and domestic policy,” Axios reports.
This monumental decision came from, as most of these things do, a very humble complaint leveled against Australian firm Sandfire Resources. According to Axios, the company “illegally financed a measure to block new restrictions on hard rock mining in Montana.”
A pretty clear example of foriegn money pushing Montanans around. One of the complainants in the case called the FEC’s decision “surprising and scary.”
“Are we, as U.S. citizens, really OK with letting foreign money go directly to state lawmaking via citizen initiative campaigns?”
According to the FEC, yes we are.
Not that it provides much comfort, but Axios says, “The decision only concerns federal law; states remain free to outlaw foreign funding for state-registered ballot committees.”
Feel better? Me neither.
According to Ballotpedia, there are currently 61 referendums on state ballots in 2022. The FEC’s decision could play a significant role in every single one of them, including congressional redistricting. Wealthy foreigners are now potentially in a position to manipulate the outcome of elections, undermining our democratic process.
FEC Commissioner Ellen Weintraub shared her thoughts on Twitter: “I voted to protect our nation’s ballot initiatives from foreign influence, but my view did not prevail. 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.”
It won’t be long before we all wished we had listened to Ellen Weintraub.
[h/t Axios]
