It is important that we work to insulate our elections from foreign influence, and this bill is an important step towards returning Maine elections to Mainers.
This legislation will prohibit donations and disbursements by foreign governments, foreign government-owned entities, and foreign government-influenced entities in ballot measures and candidate campaigns. This evolved from a bill that we supported in the 130th Legislature, which narrowly failed to override the Governor’s veto.
This concern is based on the belief that our system of self-government should place political control in the hands of the sovereign people, and concerns that foreign interests will meddle with that process to leverage their influence or achieve results they cannot win through diplomacy.