Seventeen states have either introduced or passed bills banning foreign money from influencing state ballot measures.
All of them are red states.
Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky , Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Wyoming have all introduced or passed such bills. Five of the states have passed the laws: Kansas, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, and Wyoming. Six states have had their bills passed by a house of the legislature already: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Missouri, Montana, and Tennessee, as Americans For Public Trust (APT) has documented.
“Federal law prohibits foreign nationals from contributing to candidates and Super PACS, but there is no federal prohibition against foreign nationals funding ballot issue campaigns,” APT notes. “Without closing this foreign influence loophole, states are leaving their…
