The Republican speech of the Ohio House blocked legislation that would outlaw the use of foreign currency in election campaign cash as a gift to Democrats.
The Republican-controlled Ohio Senate advanced a modified version of HB 114 on Wednesday to allow Biden to emerge on the Buckeye State’s vote for the 2024 general election. According to a report from The Federalist, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s office received a letter last month informing state Democratic Party Chair Liz Walters that the Democratic National Convention is taking place more than a month after Ohio’s requirement for political candidates to become certified.
Legal counsel Paul Disantis warned that in order to make an exception to this legal requirement, the DNC may proceed up its voting protocol or the Ohio General Assembly has work by May 9, 2024 (90 days before a new government’s powerful day ).
Senate Republicans attempted to report a benefit by passing a bill to help correct Democrats ‘ planning error with the expectation that Ohio did act now to allow Biden to count. When the Senate passed HB 114, they added rules prohibiting foreign nationals from expending resources, including “independent expenses”, for Ohio vote measure activities. Under the proposed legislation, international donors like Swedish national Hansjörg Wyss are prohibited from making expenditures “advocating aid of or criticism to an identified vote issue or question or achieving the powerful circulation of an initiative or referendum petition in order to spot such an issue or question on the ballot.”
The Senate passed SB 215, but the House previously adopted the procedures that were included in SB 215.
Senate Democrats were apparently satisfied with HB 114’s expansion of the presidential nomination date, but they were vehemently opposed to procedures that prohibited foreigners from influencing Ohio vote measure campaigns. In the end, the measure was supported by Republicans ( 24 to 7 ), with Democrats ( 27 to 7 ) supporting it.
Senate Republicans ‘ efforts were stalled once the measure reached the House despite passing it by the aforementioned May 9 deadline. Before the session ended on Wednesday, GAO Speaker Jason Stephens forbade discussion on the bill.
Speaking with reporters, he said:” We had those conversations and ended up not doing it today”. According to The Columbus Dispatch, Stephens indicated that” the support ]for HB 114] was n’t there”.
A separate bill ( SB 92 ), which extended the state’s Tuesday presidential nomination deadline, was passed by a House committee. The Senate measure’s new restrictions on foreigners from funding ballot measure campaigns were not included in this legislation.
The full House “informally passed” SB 92 on Wednesday, meaning “it stays on the calendar but does n’t actually pass and is n’t put up for a vote”, according to a local outlet. A later time might be appropriate to consider the bill.
Cozy With Democrats
It’s important to mention that House Democrats helped elect Stephens as speaker. The House GOP conference had chosen Rep. Derek Merrin as speaker months before the lower chamber’s vote on the position in January 2023.
A local ABC affiliate reported that during the actual vote, 32 Democrats and Twenty-two Republicans ( known as the” Blue 22″ ) and 32 Republicans voted for Stephens as speaker, while the majority of Republicans voted for Merrin. Stephens is” significantly more moderate than Merrin,” according to the outlet.
Stephens ‘ refusal to allow debate on HB 114 prompted several GOP lawmakers to push for a motion to vacate, although the move did n’t materialize.
According to The Federalist’s request for comment, Stephens did not explain why he opposed HB 114’s consideration in the House or whether he thinks foreign funds should be allowed to be used in campaigns for Ohio ballot measures.
Meanwhile, Senate President Matt Huffman, a Republican, emphasized how the Senate- passed version of HB 114 is a great” compromise” for both sides and noted that” Republicans in both the House and the Senate are n’t going to vote for a standalone Biden bill”.
Huffman and Stephens have previously had heated conversations over contentious topics, and they have previously expressed interest in removing Stephens as speaker.
Huffman did not respond to The Federalist’s request for comment.
Foreign Money in Ohio Ballot Measure Campaigns
Foreign interference in U. S. elections, particularly in advancing leftist- backed ballot measures, is not a new phenomenon.
Hansjörg Wyss, a Swiss national, is one of the most important foreign figures to influence American politics. As my colleague Brianna Lyman previously reported, Wyss,” through his Berger Action Fund, has donated$ 243 million to the Sixteen Thirty Fund“. According to a recent Americans for Public Trust ( APT ) report, the Sixteen Thirty Fund “uses its war chest … to support massive get- out- the- vote drives, issue advocacy campaigns bolstering President Biden’s agenda, liberal pet projects from abortion to immigration, and attack ads against Republican lawmakers”.
The group is administered by Arabella Advisors,” a philanthropic consulting company that guides the strategy, advocacy, impact investing, and management for high- dollar left- leaning nonprofits and individuals”, according to InfluenceWatch. Arabella was once described by the New York Times as a “leading vehicle for]dark money ] on the left.
]READ: Arabella , Sheds Light On The Dark- Money Groups Remaking America Millions Of Dollars At A Time ]
According to rumors, the Sixteen Thirty Fund allegedly dumped$ 11.5 million into the pockets of organizations that support efforts to pass a ballot measure that would have raised the bar to amend the state’s founding document. According to the Ohio Capital Journal, which is part of the left- wing media entity States Newsroom, the left- wing” Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights and the organization’s prior name Ohioans For Reproductive Freedom received about$ 6.4 million” from the group.
The Republican-backed amendment to raise the bar for the Ohio Constitution was defeated in August while the Democratic-backed amendment to the bill was passed in November.
Where Things Stand
Republican Governor of Ohio, while it’s unclear how the nominating deadline mess that Biden and his team created will be resolved. In the end, Biden will likely appear on the state’s 2024 ballot, according to Mike DeWine, either through legislation or a court ruling.
” I do n’t want to minimize that this has to happen, but I do want to minimize anybody thinking that there’s a snowball’s chance in hell that this is n’t going to happen”, DeWine said of the situation. ” The president’s name is going to be on the ballot” . ,
Honest Elections Project Action’s executive director, Jason Snead, told The Federalist that “banning foreign money in elections should be a simple decision” and that Stephens should push legislation to achieve this goal.
Instead, Ohio Democrats have chosen to support foreign billionaires who want to influence our politics. Foreign nationals already have no business making contributions to candidates. The same should be true for ballot measures”, Snead said. ” Speaker Stephens needs to decide whether he will support Democrats who want free elections or whether he will support Ohioans who want fair elections.”
The Federalist staff writer Shawn Fleetwood graduated from the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClear Health, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
