Posted on January 14, 2020 (June 2, 2020) Challenging Foreign Influence Share: FEC Commissioner Ellen Weintraub argues in a New York Times opinion piece why Seattle’s new law banning foreign-influenced corporations from spending money in Seattle elections is constitutional and correct. Commissioner Weintraub writes: “Seattle, along with other cities and states, doesn’t need to worry. No court has ever come close to holding that the Federal Election Campaign Act’s ban on political spending by foreign nationals is improper.” Introduced by Councilmember M. Lorena González, the new law prohibits corporations from spending money in Seattle elections if they are foreign-influenced, defined as more than 1 percent ownership by a single foreign national or more than five percent ownership by multiple foreign nationals. Read Ellen Weintraub’s full article in the New York Times. And learn more about the new Seattle law here.