It is not intended to provide an exhaustive discussion of election laws, but to clarify the jurisdictional difference between federal and state election laws. Citations refer to the Federal Election Campaign Act and Federal Election Commission regulations. In a recent enforcement case, the Commission reaffirmed that only federal law applied to contributions by foreign nationals in connection with state and local election activity and that Hawaii law could not permit what federal law prohibited. See MUR 2892. Subsidiary of Foreign Corporation and Nonfederal Activity .
Many states place additional restrictions on donations to nonfederal candidates and committees.
Subsidiary of Foreign Corporation and Political Committee Contributions . Examples of Federal Preemption Listed below are selected situations in which the Commission has ruled that the Act supersedes state or local laws. The Act preempts a Minnesota law under which candidates for the House and Senate received state funding if they agreed to abide by spending limits. The Act also preempts a New Hampshire law that restricted party spending on behalf of federal candidates. Contributions to Federal Candidates or Committees Federal law preempts Minnesota, Wisconsin and California laws that prohibited or restricted contributions from lobbyists to the federal campaign committees of state and local officials who were running for federal office.