Musk warned on $US1m voter lottery
Justice department cautions The America PAC that giving cash payments to registered voters who signed a petition might violate federal law.
Elon Musk’s America political action committee has been warned by the Justice Department that its $US1m daily giveaways to registered voters may violate federal law.
Mr Musk, the world’s richest man, announced the contest on Saturday in Pennsylvania, one of the seven “swing states” that will likely determine who will become the next US president – Donald Trump or Kamala Harris.
The department sent a letter to The America PAC cautioning it that giving cash payments to registered voters who signed a petition might violate federal law, people familiar with the matter said.
The billionaire has been raining millions of dollars on the battleground electorate through his pro-Trump group.
Mr Musk’s PAC is offering registered voters in Pennsylvania and six other key states a chance to win $US1m by signing a petition pledging support for the rights to free speech and firearms.
“The goal of the $1m a day prize is to maximise awareness of our petition to support the Constitution,” he posted on his X social media platform on Sunday.
The Justice Department’s letter said the PAC’s payments could violate federal law against knowingly or wilfully paying people to register to vote in election contests with federal candidates. The same law also criminalises paying people to vote.
A spokesman for the America PAC declined to comment, but earlier this week it said it was confident that its cash awards were lawful.
“The PAC is confident in the legality of this initiative and the predictable media meltdown is only helping America PAC’s efforts to support president Trump,” an America PAC representative said.
Three registered voters in Pennsylvania and one in North Carolina have already won seven-figure prizes. The PAC has said it plans to do daily lotteries until election day. The offer is extended to both newly registered voters and those who were already on the rolls. Mr Musk unveiled the contest after staging another cash giveaway that for a limited time doled out $US100 to any verified Pennsylvania registered voter signing the petition.
The Justice Department’s letter puts Mr Musk on notice that the government thinks the cash giveaways are unlawful and wants them to stop.
Richard Hasen, an election law scholar at UCLA, thinks Mr Musk is offering a financial incentive to register to vote that isn’t permitted. “I think it’s illegal whether it’s $100 or a chance to win a million,” he said.
Mr Musk’s awareness of the federal registration-buying prohibition is also a factor, he said.
Bradley Smith, a former FEC chairman, disagrees. He said the financial incentives were too indirect to be illegal. “If his real goal is to just give people an incentive to register, it seems to be a remarkably inefficient way to do it,” he said.
The Wall Street Journal
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