A federal appeals court on Oct. 8 enabled Ohio to enforce a law that bans foreigners from spending on ballot campaigns, reversing a ruling from a lower court.
The law does not violate the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment because it is targeting a compelling interest and is narrowly tailored, a majority of a U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit panel ruled.
Under U.S. Supreme Court precedent, states have broad authority to protect elections from the influence of noncitizens, U.S. Circuit Judge Amul Thapar said for the majority.
“By definition, lawful permanent residents are not American citizens. Therefore, we have no trouble concluding that Ohio has a compelling interest in preventing foreign influence in its elections and that Ohio’s interest extends to preventing independent expenditures by noncitizens,” he wrote….