An effort to prevent foreign governments from spending money on state referendum campaigns took another step forward Tuesday.

The group Protect Maine Elections turned in more than 80,000 signatures to the Secretary of State in hopes of placing the issue on the November 2023 ballot.

“It is unconscionable that foreign governments are currently permitted to dump millions of dollars into referendum campaigns, the very tool with which Maine voters can directly affect state law,” Sen. Rick Bennett (R-Oxford) said in a statement.

Bennett said the ballot initiative seeks to close a loophole that allows foreign governments to spend money on referendum campaigns unless prohibited by state law. Foreign governments cannot contribute to candidate campaigns.

In addition, the ballot question directs Maine’s congressional delegation to advance a Constitutional amendment to set campaign fundraising and spending limits in Maine and across the country.

“Voters in my district, and indeed around the state, are sick and tired of having their voices silenced by millions of dollars in dark money political ads each election cycle,” Sen. Nicole Grohoski (D-Ellsworth) said. “The current level of spending, which increases every year, is poisonous to our democracy — this initiative is the antidote that Maine voters are asking for.”

Protect Maine Elections’ top funder is American Promise Inc., a Massachusetts-based group founded by Boston attorney Jeff Clements.