by JD Davidson
The Ohio House approved a compromise between House and Senate Republicans in a special session Thursday that would ban foreign contributions to any political campaign and create a legislative solution to enable President Joe Biden to participate in the November election.
Both bills were passed even though the Democratic National Committee said on Tuesday that there would be a roll call vote before the convention scheduled for tardy August to formally nominate Biden and miss the Aug. 7 deadline for Ohio’s general election.
“What we are trying to do here, folks, is ferret out the evil construct of foreign money in the context of our elections. This is an extremely good thing,” Rep. Bill Seitz, D-Cincinnati, said on the House floor. “It’s a dangerous world. The Chinese are busy hacking our systems. There are many other countries in the world that are not our friends, and we believe Ohioans should decide elections with American money.”
Ohio law already prohibits giving foreign money to candidates. The novel law adds statewide voting initiatives to the prohibited list but does not cover local voting issues.
Republicans also amended the bill on the ballot to bar legal aliens with green cards from participating in political campaigns.
House Bill 1, passed by Republicans along party lines 64-31, would not only ban foreign campaign contributions for campaigns or candidates, but would also ban foreign money for issues that have not been approved as ballot issues. It also allows the attorney general to investigate and prosecute potential cases.
Dani Isaacsohn of Cincinnati said the bill creates an environment of fear among Ohioans and is a power grab by the attorney general. He said Democrats would support a neat bill that would be consistent with federal law that already bans foreign money.
“This bill creates an extremely confusing and broad set of potential violations,” Isaacsohn said. “This bill is an insult to the people of Ohio. This bill is an attack on the roots of our democratic process.”
During the special session, Democrats in the House and Senate pushed for a neat bill that would only address Biden’s appearance on the ballot.
House Bill 2, which passed by a 63-31 margin, extends the deadline for major party presidential candidates to appear in the November 2024 elections.
Gov. Mike DeWine, who last week called the Legislature into a special session for the first time in a decade to deal with Biden and foreign currencies, said Thursday he would sign both bills as soon as they reach his desk.
“I thank the House committee for introducing two bills this morning that would put President Biden on the fall ballot and that would limit foreign campaign contributions in Ohio. I insist on the adoption of these laws and remain optimistic. I will receive these bills to sign in the coming days,” DeWine said in a statement.
Earlier this week, the Senate approved a bill introduced during the regular session that contained the same elements as the two House bills. On Wednesday, House Republicans criticized the Senate’s action unconstitutional i questioned the legality of voting on draft laws of the regular session at the extraordinary session.
The Senate had not scheduled a session for Thursday but could convene on Friday, although the calendar did not schedule a full session for Thursday afternoon.
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Ohio native J.D. Davidson is a veteran journalist with more than 30 years of experience at newspapers in Ohio, Georgia, Alabama and Texas. He served as a reporter, editor, editor-in-chief and publisher. Davidson is the magazine’s regional editor Central Square.
“Joe Biden” photo by President Joe Biden.
