Judge puts brakes on new law banning foreign government spending on referendums

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A federal judge is delaying the implementation of a voter-approved law in Maine that aimed to close an election law loophole by stopping foreign government spending on state referendum races.

U.S. District Judge Nancy Torresen issued a preliminary injunction on Thursday, the day before the new law was to go into effect, after lawsuits by Maine’s two largest electric utilities and organizations representing newspapers and broadcasters. Torresen concluded there was enough merit in their arguments to delay the law until litigation is completed in federal court.

Federal law already bans foreign influence in candidate elections, but many Maine voters were irked over $22 million spent by a Canadian utility to fight state referendums on a hydropower transmission project. Mainers voted overwhelmingly in November to close the loophole and ban foreign governments, or companies with 5% or more foreign government ownership, from donating to future referendums.

The plaintiffs sued on constitutional grounds. The media outlets contended the law requires them to police advertisements and “substantially burdens core political speech and the freedom of the press.”

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