A federal judge has blocked a fresh Ohio law restricting who can participate in the political process just hours before it was set to take effect. The controversial law would have prevented lawful indefinite residents, known as green card holders, from contributing to campaigns.
Draft bill no. 1passed during an Ohio special session in May, was intended to crack down on foreign donations to state and local election campaigns. This could happen through direct donations from outside the country or through donations to an entity such as a political action committee (PAC).
But it did much more.
It would prohibit lawful indefinite residents (LPRs) or green card holders from making contributions or spending on ballot-related or candidate-related issues. It would also prevent campaigns from accepting donations from them.
“These are the people who pay taxes, these are the people who work here and contribute to society,” state Rep. Michele Grim (D-Toledo) said Monday.[The law] “He’s actually undermining the voice of Ohio voters and telling them their vote doesn’t count.”
U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson, a Republican appointed by former President George W. Bush, temporarily stayed this essential provision, effectively blocking the entire bill.
“I think the judge ruled correctly in this case,” Grim said. “Green card holders can participate in the political process.”
Grim opposed this during the commission proceedings but was pleased when the fight moved to court.
“Defendants ask the Court to rule that individual LPR members — who the federal government allows to fight and die in the U.S. Armed Forces — pose such a high risk of ‘foreign influence’ on Ohio’s political process that Ohio may prohibit them from speaking about Ohio politics,” Watson wrote in a uncommon opinion Saturday. “The Court declines.”
The judge found the law was “likely unconstitutional” because federal law allows indefinite residents to exercise their First Amendment right to political speech.
Many Republican members of the House of Representatives have argued that these provisions do not only apply to green card holders and that they are intended to protect the state.
“Most Ohioans would agree that foreign dollars should have no influence on our referendum initiatives,” Senate President Matt Huffman said during the special session.
In early March, Republican senators passed SB 215, a bill similar to HB 1.
This bill comes from Sixteen Thirty Fund, a gloomy money group that supports progressive causes, explained state Sen. Rob McColley (R-Napoleon).
Data from the state’s campaign finance disclosure website shows that 501(c)(4)s have spent about $11.5 million on groups that advocate for abortion access and maintaining majority voting power. Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights and the organization’s previous name, Ohioans For Reproductive Freedom, have received about $6.4 million. One Person One Vote has received about $5.1 million.
Although the fund does not have to disclose its donors, it has received more than $200 million from Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss since 2016, according to data from Associated Press Press Agency.
Foreign money in elections is already illegal at the federal level. But Huffman explained that HB 1 would give Ohio officials the ability to pursue criminal penalties, including felony charges and prison time.
“Local actors who take this money and know that it is against the law, if they do not receive any compensation, if they are not punished for any action, they will continue to do so,” the president continued.
Under Ohio law and numerous nonpartisan prosecutors we contacted, Attorney General Dave Yost can ask a court to freeze a campaign account so he can investigate it for “foreign interference.”
Democrats say Republicans who introduced the initiative are simply enraged about their failures.
“They are the sore losers from last year and they are trying to make it even harder,” said state Sen. Bill DeMora (D-Columbus).
All three ballot propositions that passed in 2023 were started because voters were unhappy with the state legislature and didn’t feel their voices were being heard. The special election in August was proposed by legislators because they didn’t want abortion to become legal — a direct result of enraged citizen outcry.
Grim said this alleged “foreign money” ban is aimed directly at preventing passage of a constitutional amendment to prevent gerrymandering.
“Last year, it was about voter suppression,” she said. “And now, the Citizens Not Politicians referendum initiative.”
Warnings
The ruling doesn’t come as a complete shock. A dozen Houses and one Republican Senate have tried to prevent this aspect of the law.
House Majority Leader and state legislator Rep. Bill Seitz (R-Cincinnati) predicted this would happen. HB 1, which he worked on, did not include the provision. Seitz said it was a last-minute amendment.
“Whenever the General Assembly tries to overdo it and go all out, go all out, hit a home run — whenever that happens, it usually ends badly for us,” Seitz said during his floor speech, trying to convince his colleagues to postpone the amendment.
Both Seitz and state Sen. Niraj Antani (R-Miamisburg) urged their group to drop the idea, attacking the amendment’s sponsor, state Rep. Brian Stewart (R-Ashville), and the bill’s original sponsor, state Sen. Rob McColley (R-Napoleon).
Seitz on Monday made clear he was disappointed the Republican Party didn’t listen to him — but noted it’s always nice to say, “I told you so.”
“I was concerned that this would poison the bill, and that is exactly what Judge Watson found,” he said.
While Watson did not reject the entire bill outright, he could have done so, Seitz said, adding that the bill was practically unenforceable.
“He went so far as to invalidate the bill as it relates to green card holders, saying that certain other parts of the bill are, let’s call it, tainted by the green card amendment and that they too need to be subject to an injunction,” the official said.
Despite his pleas, only 11 others joined in defeating the amendment, including House Speaker Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill), who expressed concerns about its legality.
Seitz said Republicans should note that all Democrats voted to keep the amendment.
“They wanted to put that in the bill, making it constitutionally suspect,” he said. “The moment the motion to postpone was so miserably defeated, the proponents of the amendment should have realized that they had fallen into a trap.”
In the other chamber, Antani even fought to get lawmakers to listen to him. We spoke with Antani after this story aired. He criticized Senate Republican leaders, with whom he already has a contentious relationship.
“I think the leadership is really being questioned here,” Antani said, taking a long dig at McColley. “It’s just incomprehensible incompetence.”
McColley, the Senate majority leader, is expected to become the next president of the Senate, which raises doubts for Antani.
“[He] doesn’t understand elementary constitutional concepts – that’s definitely a problem,” Antani said.
Ignoring Antani’s insults, McColley sent a response regarding further legal action.
“Our multi-level court system is based on the premise that reasonable minds can disagree on legal conclusions. Accordingly, litigants have the right to appeal a lower court’s decision. I am confident that the extensive legal analysis that went into crafting House Bill 1 was conducted. I expect the trial court’s decision will be appealed soon. The appeal will continue to focus on the principle that noncitizens who are prevented from voting cannot also directly influence elections through monetary contributions,” McColley told me.
Seitz thinks lawmakers need to try again in the next General Assembly.
“Our Democratic friends played her like a Stradivarius violin,” Seitz said.
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