elections-and-politics | state

UPDATE: Report Details Foreign Cash in Ohio elections, ballot measures

By Ohio.news on Apr 18, 2024

UPDATE: Foreign Cash in Ohio Ballot Measures

New reporting details at least $100 million from foreign-backed PACs to steer state elections and ballot measures, including in Ohio. Ohio.news previously reported on the multi-million dollar sway of The 1630 Fund on Ohio’s controversial Issue 1. The fund is linked with billionaires Hansjorg Wyss, Pierre Omidyar, and George Soros. 

Now, Americans for Public Trust has released a damning new report exposing the influence of foreign cash in subverting the organic democratic process in state politics:

"No part of the United States has been spared from Sixteen Thirty Fund’s foreign money… Ballot initiatives in Michigan, Ohio, Colorado, Nebraska, Missouri, and Nevada have received the highest concentration of funding – ranging from $6 million to almost $34 million."

Ohio State Sens. Theresa Gavarone and Rob McColley introduced legislation banning foreign cash in Ohio elections. The bill passed the Senate and has been introduced in the Ohio House, where it awaits committee review.

The 1630 Fund's outsized spending was critical to the passage of Ohio's controversial Issue 1, which enshrined new abortion protections in Ohio. Progressive groups have attempted to force abortion crises in multiple states as a means of driving democratic voter turnout in a time when the economy and the Biden Administration's open border and disastrous era of inflation remain top of mind for voters.

See more on The 1630 Fund and the Americans for Public Trust report from Kyle Becker.