U.S. District 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, filed suit to try to stop the law from taking effect.
