Maine Foreign Election Spending Law Struck Down by First Circuit

July 11, 2025, 9:02 PM UTC

A Maine voter-approved law barring companies with stakes held by foreign government from spending on state elections runs afoul of the First Amendment, a panel of First Circuit judges held.

Judge Lara E. Montecalvo of the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit said the law “likely sweeps far too broadly to be narrowly tailored” based on the low threshold of foreign ownership that triggers the law’s prohibitions on spending and other contributions, in a Friday opinion.

Companies with at least 5% ownership by a foreign government are prohibited, under the law, from trying to sway Maine politics. ...

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