Elon Musk, the billionaire founder of Tesla and Space Now he pledges to donate $1 million a day to voters for signing a political action committee petition supporting the Constitution.
The giveaway raises questions and concerns among some election experts who say that tying a cash handout to signing a petition that also requires a person to be registered to vote is a violation of the law.
Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, a former state attorney general, expressed concern about the plan on Sunday.
“I think there are real questions about how the money is being spent in this race, and how dark money is flowing, not just into Pennsylvania, but apparently now into Pennsylvania’s pockets. This is troubling,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “Very much.”
A closer look at what’s happening:
What does musk do?
Musk promised on Saturday that he would donate $1 million a day, until the Nov. 5 election, to people who sign his PAC petition supporting the First Amendment, which protects free speech, and the Second Amendment, with its right to “preserve free speech.” Take up arms.” He gave a check during an event Saturday in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to a man known as John Dreher. A message left with a number listed for Dreher was not returned Sunday. Musk issued another check on Sunday.
What is the broader context here?
Musk’s political action committee has launched a tour of Pennsylvania, a crucial election battleground. It aims to register voters to support Trump, who Musk has endorsed. The PAC is also trying to persuade voters in other key states. It is not the organization’s first cash offer. Musk posted on X, the platform he bought as Twitter before renaming it, that he would offer people $47 — and then $100 — to refer others to register and sign the petition.
Trump, who was campaigning on Sunday in Pennsylvania, was asked about Musk’s giveaway, and he said: “I did not follow up on that.” Trump said he “talks to Elon a lot. He is a friend of mine,” he said, describing him as great for the country.
What’s the problem with that?
Some election law experts are raising red flags about the giveaway. Brendan Fisher, a campaign finance lawyer, said the latest version of Musk’s giveaway is close to legal limits. That’s because the PAC requires registration as a prerequisite to becoming eligible for a $1 million check. “There would be few doubts about legality if all petition signers in Pennsylvania were eligible, but linking payments to enrollment arguably violates the law,” Fisher said in an email.
Rick Hasen, a political science professor at the UCLA School of Law, went further. He pointed to a law that prohibits paying people to register to vote or vote. “If all he was doing was paying people to sign the petition, it might be a waste of money. But there’s nothing illegal about it,” Hasen said in a phone interview. “The problem is that the only people eligible to participate in this giveaway are They are people who are registered to vote. “This makes it illegal.”
The context of the giveaway so close to Election Day makes it difficult to prove that the effort is anything other than incentivizing people to register to vote, said Michael Kang, a professor of election law at Northwestern University’s Pritzker Law School.
What do you know about the 2024 elections?
“It’s not quite the same as paying someone to vote, but you get close enough that we’re concerned about its legality,” Kang said.
A message seeking comment was left with the political action committee on Sunday, as was a request for comment from the Department of Justice.
Is it possible to coordinate between the political action committee and the Trump campaign?
Coordination between campaigns and so-called super PACs has typically been prohibited. But a recent opinion from the Federal Elections Commissioner, which regulates federal campaigns, allowed candidates and these groups to work together in certain cases, including voting efforts.
