Regulation Of Foreign Involvement In Elections

This report by the foreign law research staff of the Law Library of Congress’s Global Legal Research Directorate includes surveys of thirteen major democratic foreign jurisdictions on laws and policies addressing foreign involvement in elections. Reports of foreign interference in recent elections in the United States and elsewhere have prompted responses in several countries. For example, Australia enacted a new law in 2018 imposing limits on foreign donations to parties and candidates, and also prohibited other political actors from using foreign donations to fund political expenditures. Australia also adopted a Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme, which requires persons undertaking political activities for foreign principals to meet registration and disclosure requirements. Australia also legislated new criminal offenses involving foreign interference, including the offense of “intentional foreign interference,” which provides for imprisonment for up to 20 years for covert or deceptive conduct on behalf of a foreign principal intended to influence a political or governmental process.