Michigan and Alabama Republicans took major steps this week to secure their states’ elections from foreign dark money.
The GOP-controlled Michigan House passed legislation (HB 5197) on Thursday that seeks to prohibit foreign nationals from contributing money to ballot initiative campaigns. The measure passed 97-6, with seven members not voting.
HB 5197 stipulates that Michigan ballot question committees “shall not knowingly or willfully receive, solicit, or accept contributions from a foreign national, whether directly or indirectly.” These committees are further required to obtain “affirmation” from any person who donates to the campaign that he or she “is not a foreign national and has not knowingly or willfully received, solicited, or accepted more than $100,000.00 in aggregate from foreign nationals in the 4 years immediately preceding the date of the contribution.”
Ballot question committees who discover that a donor meets the bill’s criteria are ordered to “return” such contributions “not later than 30 business days” after receiving it. Those who violate the provision will be “subject to a civil fine of not more than double the amount of the undisclosed contribution.”
The measure includes additional language explicitly prohibiting foreign nationals from making “a contribution, independent expenditure, or expenditure to promote or defeat a ballot question or to qualify a question for placement on the ballot.”
HB 5197 now heads to Michigan’s Democrat-run Senate for consideration.
Foreign money in Michigan elections has become a persistent problem in recent election cycles — in no small part thanks to Hansjorg Wyss.
A left-wing Swiss national, Wyss has regularly interfered in American elections via his Berger Action Fund, which has pumped millions of dollars into the U.S.-based Sixteen Thirty Fund. The latter is a leftist advocacy group and part of the recently re-acquisitioned left-wing Arabella Advisors “dark money” network.
According to a March 2025 report by Americans for Public Trust, the Sixteen Thirty Fund has dumped upwards of $130 million into ballot initiative campaigns in 26 states since 2014, with Michigan being the group’s top recipient ($33.5 million). In 2022, for example, the Sixteen Thirty Fund gave more than $6 million to the organization behind a successfully passed amendment to enshrine abortion into the Michigan Constitution, according to Ballotpedia.
Honest Elections Project Action Executive Director Jason Snead applauded the Michigan House’s passage of the HB 5197 and “urged” the Senate to “quickly take up” and “pass [this] critical” bill.
Michigan House Republicans’ passage of HB 5197 came days after their GOP counterparts in the Alabama House of Representatives approved their own bill (HB 214) to ban foreign nationals from “directly or indirectly” contributing to state ballot campaigns. Similar to Michigan, the measure passed with overwhelming support and now heads to the Alabama Senate for further consideration.
“Alabama’s hardworking men and women deserve elections that are funded honestly and transparently,” Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen said in a statement. “I am proud to see the Alabama House take action to protect the Alabama elections process from improper foreign influence.”
For more election news and updates, visit electionbriefing.com.
Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood
