Foreigners United: Foreign Influence in American Elections After Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission

This Note argues that the majority’s decision in Citizens United allows foreign nationals to circumvent the Congressional ban on influencing American elections, and that Citizens United should be reconsidered in light of this fact, as well as the compelling government interest in preventing such circumvention, and preserving the integrity of the electoral process. Part II provides an overview of the Congressional ban and Citizens United’s relationship to its circumvention. Part III.A analyzes the methods by which foreign nationals can circumvent the ban in order to influence American elections. Part III.B proposes both judicial and legislative solutions to the problem of foreign election influence created by Citizens United. Part III.C presents and analyzes a representative sample of other existing solutions to foreign election influence. Part IV identifies and refutes counterarguments that would support the decision in Citizens United and its progeny