More than 30 states have enacted or are advancing legislation specifically targeting foreign interference in state and local elections, including prohibitions on foreign contributions to state ballot initiative campaigns, requirements that digital political advertising disclose its funding source, and enhanced disclosure requirements for state-level foreign agent registration. The state-level activity fills gaps in federal law.
Election security officials in multiple states have documented active foreign influence operations targeting school board, state legislative, and ballot initiative campaigns. The operations are less sophisticated than those targeting federal races but operate in regulatory environments with fewer resources and less oversight. State election security offices are requesting additional federal support for threat intelligence sharing and incident response.
