U.S. District Judge Judge Michael Watson has blocked an Ohio law that was set to take effect on Sept. 1, finding that the law violates the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment.
Ohio legislators in an act signed by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine over the summer prohibited foreign nationals from spending money on ballot campaigns, an extension of a law that already barred them from contributing to political candidates. Nonprofits and several individuals, including noncitizens, sued to try to stop the law from taking effect.
The plaintiffs said the law violated their rights under the First Amendment. Unless enjoined, they wrote in a request for a preliminary injunction, the law “will broadly chill discussion of ballot issues and impede the fundamental right to advocate collectively, threatening both noncitizens and those who associate with them with substantial criminal penalties.”…