Telsa and X owner Elon Musk’s decision to award registered voters in swing states a $1 million prize may land him in legal hot water, several professors and former federal officials say.
Late on Sunday night, the Musk-backed America PAC framed the giveaway as a job opportunity, writing on X that winners “will be selected to earn $1M as a spokesperson for America PAC.”
Previously, Musk and his PAC said that people have to sign the petition, be a registered voter, and reside in a swing state to be eligible to win the prize and made no mention of the job offer. In a recent town hall, the multibillionaire said that only registered voters can sign the petition and be eligible to win.
Two of the winners who Musk picked over the weekend appeared in promotional videos posted on the America PAC’s X account.
Musk announced another $1 million winner on Sunday evening, again urging people to sign his petition. According to his post, two Pennsylvania residents won after signing his American PAC’s petition “in support of the First and Second Amendments.”
“All you have to do is sign our petition in support of The Constitution,” the SpaceX CEO wrote.
Previously, Musk’s PAC said individuals in battleground states would be eligible to win and that prizes would be doled out every day until the Nov. 5 election.
What Is He Doing?
Musk made his initial promise of $1 million on Saturday before he awarded a check during an event that same day in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to a man identified as John Dreher.
His America PAC has launched a tour of Pennsylvania, a critical election battleground with just more than two weeks to go before the contest.
The PAC is also pushing to entice voters in other key states. It’s not the first offer of cash the organization has made. Musk has posted on X that he would offer people $47—and then $100—for referring others to register and sign the petition.
“The First and Second Amendments guarantee freedom of speech and the right to bear arms,” the petition reads. “By signing below, I am pledging my support for the First and Second Amendments.”
Signers have to provide their contact details, including their first and last names, email addresses, cell phone numbers, and mailing addresses. There is also a place to provide an email or cell phone number for a person who referred the signer.
Professor Argues It’s Illegal
The move, however, has drawn its share of detractors.
One of them, Rick Hasen, a professor at the University of California–Los Angeles, argued on his website that Musk has veered “into clearly illegal vote buying” with the prizes.
“Though maybe some of the other things Musk was doing were of murky legality, this one is clearly illegal,” Hasen wrote, citing a section of the U.S. Code on vote registration.
“Whoever knowingly or willfully gives false information as to his name, address or period of residence in the voting district for the purpose of establishing his eligibility to register or vote, or conspires with another individual for the purpose of encouraging his false registration to vote or illegal voting, or pays or offers to pay or accepts payment either for registration to vote or for voting shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both,” reads a section of the code, U.S.C 10307(c), in part.
Hasen, who has been critical of Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump on his website and on social media, argued that what he believes makes Musk’s announcement illegal is that “only registered voters in swing states” can participate.
Others Say It Approaches Legal Barrier
Michael Kang, an election law professor at Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law, said the context of the giveaway so close to Election Day makes it harder to make the case that the effort is anything but incentivizing people to register to vote.
“It’s not quite the same as paying someone to vote, but you’re getting close enough that we worry about its legality,” Kang said.
Brendan Fischer, a campaign finance lawyer, said the latest iteration of Musk’s giveaway may approach a legal boundary because Musk’s PAC is requiring voter registration as a requirement to be eligible to win.
“There would be few doubts about the legality if every Pennsylvania-based petition signer were eligible, but conditioning the payments on registration arguably violates the law,” Fischer said.
Governor Wants Investigation
Speaking to NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said that law enforcement should “take a look” at Musk’s offer, which he described as “deeply concerning.”
“Musk obviously has a right to be able to express his views. He’s made it very, very clear that he supports Donald Trump. I don’t. Obviously we have a difference of opinion,” the Democratic governor said, adding, “I don’t deny him that, right, but when you start flowing this kind of money into politics, I think it raises serious questions.”
Musk Responds to Shapiro
Musk appeared to respond to Shapiro’s comment to “Meet the Press” on his social media platform, X, by reposting an article saying that the governor had met with Alexander Soros, the son of multibillionaire investor George Soros and who sits on the board of his father’s left-wing Open Society Foundations.
“Concerning that he would say such a thing,” Musk wrote in another post, referring to Shapiro’s remark.
The SpaceX CEO has not specifically responded to concerns raised by Hasen or other legal analysis about his swing-state giveaway.
In July, Musk announced he was endorsing Trump’s presidential campaign. Earlier this month, he appeared alongside the former president at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, where Trump survived an assassination attempt just three months prior.
Trump in turn has said that if he’s elected, he would appoint Musk to head a government efficiency panel.
The Epoch Times contacted a Musk company press account for comment but received no reply by publication time.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
From The Epoch Times