On July 13, the U.S. House of Representatives approved legislation banning foreign nationals from contributing to state or local ballot measure campaigns.
Federal law prohibits federal, state, and local candidates from soliciting, directing, or receiving contributions from individuals who are not citizens or permanent residents of the United States. The law also bans contributions from foreign governments, political parties, corporations, organizations, or groups whose principal place of business is in a foreign country.
Federal courts, however, have established that the ban does not apply to issue advocacy, such as lobbying or spending in ballot measure campaigns. The Federal Election Commission has affirmed that under current federal law foreign individuals, corporations, and governments may contribute to ballot measure campaigns.
