Federal judge blocks Ohio law banning donations to ballot campaigns from foreign nationals

A federal judge has blocked enforcement of an Ohio law that bans foreign nationals and green card holders from donating to ballot measure campaigns.

On Saturday, U.S. District Judge Judge Michael Watson ruled that the state law violated the First Amendment right to free speech for lawful permanent residents, The Associated Press reported.

In June, Ohio enacted a law banning foreign nationals from donating to state ballot issue campaigns, including before the measures secure their place on the ballot. The law was amended in the state House before passage to include a ban on contributions from green card residents. The statute also lets Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost investigate complaints instead of the state election commission, which oversees all other complaints related to elections.

The law followed reports about Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss, who lives in Wyoming and donates to nonprofits that donate funds to influence U.S. politics and ballot measure campaigns.

The federal judge ruled that eligibility for U.S. military service allows legal residents to spend money to express their political views.

Watson highlighted that lawful permanent residents can serve in the U.S. military and may be required to register for selective service, asserting it would be “absurd” to allow or compel them “to fight and die for this country” while preventing them “from making incidental expenditures for a yard-sign that expresses a view on state or local politics."

“Where is the danger of people beholden to foreign interests higher than in the U.S. military? Nowhere,” he added. “So, if the U.S. Federal Government trusts (such residents) to put U.S. interests first in the military (of all places), how could this Court hold that it does not trust them to promote U.S. interests in their political spending? It cannot.”

Watson further asserted that Americans had the right to hear the protected speech of foreign nationals.

His decision specifically prevented officials from seeking criminal or civil liability for alleged violations of state law based on the “foreign national” definition. It is illegal for non-citizens to vote in U.S. elections or to donate to candidates.

On Monday, Yost and Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose filed an appeal of the judge's preliminary injunction.