What are the rules on foreigners volunteering in US elections?
Former president and current Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign has filed a complaint to the US Federal Election Commission (FEC), in response to reports of current and former Labour party staff preparing to campaign in support of Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris ahead of the upcoming US presidential election.
The letter from Mr Trump’s campaign calls for “an immediate investigation into blatant foreign interference in the 2024 Presidential Election in the form of apparent illegal foreign national contributions made by the Labour Party of the United Kingdom and accepted by Harris for President, the principal campaign committee of Vice President Kamala Harris”.
It comes after Labour’s head of operations reportedly wrote in a LinkedIn post (since deleted) that “nearly 100 Labour party staff, current and former” were heading to the US to campaign in swing states ahead of the election on 5 November. The post reportedly said there were 10 “spots available” for additional volunteers, adding “we will sort your housing”.
Labour has said that the party did not fund any of the trips. At Prime Minister’s Questions today, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said: “People in their own time often go and campaign, and that’s what we have seen. It happens in all political parties.”
What are the rules on foreign involvement in US elections?
The FEC, which oversees all US elections, states that foreign nationals (with the exception of green card holders) may not make donations in connection with any federal, state or local election in the US. Foreign nationals are also prohibited from influencing decision making in election-related activities.
The FEC defines a foreign national as either an individual who is not a US citizen or lawful permanent resident, or a “foreign principal”, which includes foreign governments and political parties, as well as businesses and organisations whose principal place of business is not in the US.
It is also against US law to knowingly accept donations or contributions from a foreign national.
However, the FEC also states that foreign nationals “may participate in campaign activities as an uncompensated volunteer”, as long as they are not involved in the decision making process of a campaign.
As has been reported elsewhere, FEC rules also state that individuals “may voluntarily spend up to $1,000 for unreimbursed transportation expenses on behalf of the campaign”, but that travel costs above $1,000 may be considered a contribution (which foreign nationals are prohibited from making). There’s no limit to the amount a volunteer can spend on their own food and housing, though these expenses must be “incidental to volunteer activity”.