Noncitizen voting is a top election integrity concern heading into the high-stakes 2026 midterms. (J.D. Pooley/Getty Images)
The report says that while foreign individuals are banned from donating to political candidates, bad actors have found a legal loophole by contributing both directly and indirectly to ballot measure campaigns that can include initiatives changing constitutions and election laws. The report refers to these campaigns as a "Trojan Horse for foreign influence," including from "hostile foreign powers like China and Russia."
To combat this, HEP laid out model legislation called the "Prohibiting Foreign Funding from Ballot Measures Act" to bar direct and indirect foreign funding, including through intermediary nonprofits, of ballot initiatives. In addition to this, the legislation requires that donors and ballot committees affirm they are free of foreign money in order to qualify and imposes strict penalties for violations.
The report also warns of a "growing number" of blue cities, including Washington, D.C., and New York, that it says have been working to enfranchise noncitizens and illegal aliens. HEP said that most state constitutions grant voting rights to "any" or "every" citizen, open-ended language that it says allows "liberal activists [to] argue permits localities to authorize noncitizen and even illegal alien voting."
KANSAS MAYOR HIT WITH CRIMINAL CHARGES FOR ALLEGEDLY VOTING AS NONCITIZEN IN SEVERAL ELECTIONS
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to guests as he visits the Machine Shed restaurant on January 27, 2026 in Urbandale, Iowa. President Trump is scheduled to speak later at the Horizon Events Center in Clive, Iowa. He returns to Iowa for a second time in his second term ahead of the mid-term elections. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Addressing the issues, HEP Executive Director Jason Snead said that "many states have made tremendous strides in making it easy to vote and hard to cheat in recent years, but there is still more work to be done."
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"State lawmakers have one last opportunity to shore up their election laws ahead of the extremely important 2026 midterms," Snead went on, adding, "Honest Elections Project is proud to provide a roadmap for lawmakers to continue promoting election integrity across the country."
Peter Pinedo is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/watchdog-sounds-alarm-over-potential-noncitizen-voting-foreign-influence-ahead-midterms