PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 12, 2025
Maine cannot enforce a law voters approved two years ago that limits what foreign governments can spend on campaigning in state and local elections, following a federal appeals court decision Friday. The court is siding with several Maine utilities and media groups who sued Maine to stop it from enforcing the law in late 2023. Judge Lara Montecalvo remarked that the law was both “overwhelmingly popular” with voters, with 86% casting their ballot in favor, but also controversial — playing out amid a lengthy legal battle over the construction of an energy transmission line that would run across Maine to connect Massachusetts to Canadian electricity.