Preventing Foreign Interference in American Elections Act

Key Points

• The bill expands the existing ban on foreign money in U.S. elections to cover a wider range of election-related activities. Foreign nationals would be barred from donating to voter registration drives, ballot collection, voter ID efforts, get-out-the-vote campaigns, party-related communications, and election administration.
• The foreign money ban is extended to cover state and local ballot initiatives, referenda, and recall elections, which were not clearly covered under existing law.
• The bill creates a new prohibition against knowingly helping or enabling violations of the foreign money ban. It also targets indirect contributions where foreign money is funneled through intermediaries or conduits.
• Political committees, independent spenders, and those making electioneering communications must certify under penalty of perjury that they have not accepted or used foreign money.
• The bill protects the privacy of donors to 501(c) tax-exempt nonprofits by prohibiting most federal agencies from collecting or releasing donor identity information. Willful disclosure would be a felony punishable by up to $250,000 in fines and 5 years in prison.
• The bill limits the scope of FEC investigations into alleged foreign money violations and allows subjects of investigations to petition a federal court to quash overly broad subpoenas.