U.K. Labor Party plans U.S. trip to boost Harris in battleground states

The British are coming.

The Labor Party is organizing a visit by 100 former and current staff to boost Vice President Kamala Harris in battleground states, an unusual effort by British liberals to bolster their political allies across the pond.

Sofia Patel, the Labor Party’s head of operations, said the staffers will travel to North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Virginia in the “next few weeks.”

“I have 10 spots available for anyone available to head to the battleground state of North Carolina — we will sort your housing,” she said in a midweek posting on LinkedIn.

The effort coincides with heightened concerns about outside meddling in U.S. elections.

The Biden-Harris administration has repeatedly warned about foreign interference, mainly from Russia, and has taken formal action to crack down on Moscow-guided online trolls. Democrats have criticized former President Donald Trump for hosting Hungarian President Viktor Orban, whose reforms are viewed as undemocratic.

Sen. Tom Cotton, Arkansas Republican and no fan of Britain’s liberal party, called Labor’s effort “yet another reason to vote for President Trump.”

Online commenters wondered whether they ploy is legal.

Although strict guardrails are in place for foreign contributions or interference in U.S. elections, foreign nationals can legally support U.S. candidates under certain conditions.

The Federal Election Commission told The Washington Times that it could not comment on specific situations but referred to its webpage.

“Generally, an individual (including a foreign national) may volunteer personal services to a federal candidate or federal political committee without making a contribution,” the webpage says. “The [Federal Election Campaign Act] provides this volunteer ‘exemption’ as long as the individual performing the service is not compensated by anyone.”

The FEC said a foreign national can provide an uncompensated musical concert as long as the artist pays their own way and does not participate in campaign decision-making.

Also, the “commission held that a foreign national could attend, speak at campaign events for a federal candidate, and solicit contributions to the campaign,” the FEC webpage says. “However, the Commission cautioned that the foreign national could not manage or participate in any of the campaign committee’s decision-making processes.”

Election experts say foreign nationals are free to travel to the U.S., akin to tourism, and raise a Harris sign or talk politics, but the effort could run afoul of the law if they attempt to coordinate with the campaign or if a third party pays for their trip and accommodations.

The Harris campaign has not publicly acknowledged Labor’s effort, and Ms. Patel’s posts about the trip did not signal any intent to coordinate with the campaign. The short posts did not say how travelers’ expenses would be covered.

The Washington Times reached out to the email account listed by Ms. Patel for more details about the trip.

The center-left Labor Party won a landslide victory in British elections this year, ending 14 years of conservative leadership. The new prime minister, Keir Starmer, met with President Biden at the White House in September.