Sarah Haan recently led an effort to file an amicus in support of Maine's effort to bar foreign governments from using business entities to make political contributions.  A copy of the amicus is available here.   I joined in good company alongside Gina-Gail S. Fletcher, George S. Georgiev, Andrew Jennings, Paul Rose, Faith Stevelman, Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, Anne M. Tucker, Cynthia A. Willliams, and Karen Woody.

Maine's law set a 5% foreign-government-ownership threshold to bar corporations from political donations.  The District Court saw the 5% threshold as arbitrary.  The brief points out that many laws use a 5% ownership threshold to test for shareholder influence and that shareholders may wield significant influence over corporate policies with a 5% stake.

Although it didn't make the final brief, this background section provides context:

On February 29, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine granted Plaintiffs’ motion for preliminary injunction and enjoined a Maine law, “An Act to Prohibit Campaign Spending by Foreign Governments,” 21-A M.R.S. § 1064 (the “Act”). The Act prohibits any “foreign government-influenced entity” from making, directly or indirectly, a “contribution, expenditure, independent expenditure, electioneering communication or any other donation or disbursement of funds to influence the nomination or election of a candidate [for public office] or the initiation or approval of a referendum” in Maine.[1] The Act became law via the direct democracy provision of the Maine Constitution; when enacted in November 2023, it was “the biggest win for a citizens’ initiative in either percentage or absolute terms in Maine’s history.” (Order at 5.)

In its order enjoining the Act, the District Court concluded that Plaintiffs were likely to succeed on the merits of their challenge to the law. With regard to foreign spending in elections for federal office, the Court found that the Federal Election Campaign Act (“FECA”) likely expressly preempts the statute. (Order at 14.) However, the Court found no likely preemption with regard to referenda or to elections for state or local office. For those types of elections, the Court concluded that Plaintiffs were likely to succeed on the merits of their facial challenge to the Act on First Amendment grounds. Applying strict scrutiny, the Court affirmed Maine’s compelling interest in limiting foreign government influence in candidate elections, and assumed without deciding that Maine has a compelling interest in limiting foreign government influence in referenda elections. Notably, the Court found that Maine has no compelling interest in limiting the appearance of foreign government influence on elections. (Order at 31-32.)

The District Court’s determination that the Act likely violates the First Amendment turned on its narrow tailoring analysis. The Court agreed with Plaintiffs’ argument that the Act is not narrowly tailored because it uses an “arbitrarily chosen” 5% ownership threshold to define a “foreign-government influenced entity.” (Order at 35.) The Court wrote,

“I agree [with Plaintiffs] that a 5% foreign ownership threshold would prohibit a substantial amount of protected speech. I cannot reconcile the Supreme Court’s holding in Citizens United with a law that would bar a company like CMP—incorporated in Maine, governed by a Board of Directors comprised of United States citizens and run by United States citizen executive officers who reside in Maine—from campaign spending. The 5% threshold would deprive the United States citizen shareholders—potentially as much as 95% of an entity’s shareholders—of their First Amendment right to engage in campaign spending. Simply put, it would be overinclusive.”

(Order at 34.) It added that the judge could not see how the Act could “survive the observation in Citizens United that a restriction ‘not limited to corporations or associations that were created in foreign countries or funded predominately by foreign shareholders’ would be overbroad.” (Order at 35 (quoting Citizens United at 362 (emphasis added)).)

 

[1] The Act defines a “foreign government-influenced entity” as:

    • A foreign government; or
    • A firm, partnership, corporation, association, organization or other entity with respect to which a foreign government or foreign government-owned entity:
      • Holds, owns, controls or otherwise has direct or indirect beneficial ownership of 5% or more of the total equity, outstanding voting shares, membership units or other applicable ownership interests; or
      • Directs, dictates, controls or directly or indirectly participates in the decision-making process with regard to the activities of the firm, partnership, corporation, association, organization or other entity to influence the nomination or election of a candidate or the initiation or approval of a referendum, such as decisions concerning the making of contributions, expenditures, independent expenditures, electioneering communications or disbursements.

21-A M.R.S. 1064(1)(E).

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Photo of Benjamin P. Edwards Benjamin P. Edwards

Benjamin Edwards joined the faculty of the William S. Boyd School of Law in 2017. He researches and writes about business and securities law, corporate governance, arbitration, and consumer protection.

Prior to teaching, Professor Edwards practiced as a securities litigator in the New…

Benjamin Edwards joined the faculty of the William S. Boyd School of Law in 2017. He researches and writes about business and securities law, corporate governance, arbitration, and consumer protection.

Prior to teaching, Professor Edwards practiced as a securities litigator in the New York office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. At Skadden, he represented clients in complex civil litigation, including securities class actions arising out of the Madoff Ponzi scheme and litigation arising out of the 2008 financial crisis. Read More