Appellate Court Greenlights Ohio’s Prohibition On Foreign Cash In Ballot Initiative Campaigns — For Now
Ohio’s prohibition on foreign money in state ballot measure campaigns may take effect for now, a federal appellate court ruled on Tuesday.
In its short order, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals placed an administrative stay on a preliminary injunction issued by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio Eastern Division last month. That ruling barred the law (HB 1) from taking effect in time for the 2024 general election.
“To provide sufficient opportunity to consider the merits of the motion, we conclude that a brief administrative stay is warranted,” Tuesday’s order reads. “Accordingly, the district court’s order is hereby temporarily STAYED until October 8, 2024.”
Approved by lawmakers earlier this year, HB 1 stipulates that foreign nationals are directly and indirectly prohibited from making “a contribution, expenditure, or independent expenditure in support of or opposition to a statewide ballot issue or question, regardless of whether the ballot issue or question has yet been certified to appear on the ballot.” The legislation further barred foreign money from being given to political parties, candidates, or campaigns — all of which are prohibited from “knowingly” accepting such funds.
The law was passed with the purpose of warding off interference by foreign actors such as Hansjörg Wyss, a Swiss national whose Berger Action Fund has gifted hundreds of millions of dollars to left-wing dark money groups such as the Sixteen Thirty Fund, as noted in an Americans for Public Trust April report. Last year, the latter organization dumped more than $11 million into the pockets of left-wing groups backing a pro-abortion ballot initiative and aiming to defeat a ballot measure that sought to raise the threshold to amend the Ohio Constitution, according to a local ABC affiliate.
Concerns about such interference in the state’s 2024 elections is equally notable. As I previously wrote in these pages, “A review of Ohio’s campaign finance database shows the Sixteen Thirty Fund gave $6 million to the group behind a Democrat-backed redistricting amendment on the same day Gov. Mike DeWine announced a special legislative session to pass the prohibition” on foreign funding in state ballot measure campaigns.
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose responded positively to Tuesday’s court order, calling the issuance of a stay “a win for Ohioans who believe our elections shouldn’t be decided by foreign billionaires trying to hijack our state constitution.”
“I’m grateful the court has allowed the statute to take effect while we continue to litigate this case,” the secretary said in a statement. “We’ll keep fighting to make sure Ohio’s law is upheld on appeal, and my office is ready to begin its immediate enforcement.”
For more election news and updates, visit electionbriefing.com.
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
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