Advocates ask committee to bar foreign-influenced corporations from spending in state elections

Emma Chinman, coalition manager at Partners in Democracy, asked the Joint Committee on Election Laws to report Senate Bill 525 and House Bill 875 favorably. The bills would bar political spending in Massachusetts elections by corporations that are “foreign influenced,” requiring any corporation spending in state politics to first certify it is not foreign-influenced.

Chinman framed the bills as a targeted transparency and eligibility requirement rather than a speech ban. She noted the 2010 Supreme Court decision in Citizens United allows corporations and unions to spend unlimited money to influence elections so long as the spending is not coordinated, and said the bills are intended to prevent multinational or foreign-backed money from deciding state ballot outcomes.

“Just simply saying that our elections should be decided by the people of Massachusetts, not by multinational corporations channeling foreign investors’ money,” Chinman said. She noted there were already dozens of citizen-initiated questions gathering signatures for the 2026 ballot and said the bills would protect the initiative process from foreign-influenced corporate spending.

No formal committee action was recorded at the hearing; supporters asked the committee to give S 525 and H 875 a favorable report.