COLUMBUS, Ohio — A new law banning foreign nationals and green card holders from contributing to state ballot campaigns in Ohio curtails the constitutionally protected rights of free speech and association, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday in federal court.Lawyers at the Elias Law Group, a prominent Democratic law firm, and Cooper Elliott told the U.S.
The litigation argues the law, set to take effect Sept. 1, violates both the First and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.Suspect in Ohio killing rearrested after jail freed him by mistake Statehouse Republicans championed the ban on foreign nationals’ donations to issue campaigns after a string of ballot measure didn’t go their way. Voters sided against GOP leaders’ prevailing positions by wide margins on three separate ballot measures last year, including by protecting abortion access in the state Constitution, turning back a proposal to make it harder to pass such constitutional amendments in the future, and legalizing recreational marijuana.
John Fortney, a spokesperson for Republican Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman, argued that the filing of the lawsuit proves that Democrats are reliant on the donations of wealthy foreign nationals.