Testimony in Support of SB 152

I write in support of SB 152 and any legislation banning the foreign funding of ballot measures in Missouri.

Liberty Alliance USA is a Kansas City-based Conservative advocacy group founded in 2019. We advocate for election integrity at all levels of government.

SB 152 bans foreign spending on ballot measures in Missouri. 

Last year, the foreign-backed Sixteen Thirty Fund spent $8 million supporting Amendment 3 and Prop A. In 2018, the same group spent $4.8 million on ballot measures in our state.

American elections should be decided by Americans only. Overwhelming majorities of Americans agree with that fact. 

It is already illegal for foreign nationals to donate to candidates. However, the FEC ruled in 2021 that it lacked jurisdiction to enforce the same rule on state ballot measure campaigns. Since then, commissioners have urged Congress and the State Legislatures to take action against this loophole.

So far, eleven states have enacted bans on foreign spending in ballot measure campaigns. States with bans are varied in their partisanship, including California, Maryland, Wyoming, and Ohio. 

American elections should be free from foreign interference. Red states and blue states are quickly passing bans. The Senate passed SB 152 with a bipartisan vote of 28-2. 

I urge you to advance SB 152 and any other legislation banning the foreign funding of ballot measures in Missouri. 

Andy Bakker

Executive Director
Liberty Alliance USA