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Elon Musk, the founder of Tesla and SpaceX and owner of X, has pledged to donate $1 million per day to voters who sign his political action committee’s petition.
“We want to try to convince over a million, maybe two million voters in key states to sign the petition in support of the First and Second Amendment. We’re going to randomly award $1 million to people who signed the petition, every day, until the election.“, declared Elon Musk during a meeting in Pennsylvania.
The petition, linked to Elon Musk’s support for Republican candidate Donald Trump’s White House campaign, claims to support the First and Second Amendments of the US Constitution, which are the right to free speech and the right to carry of weapons. Musk has already committed at least $75 million (70 million euros) to help Trump.
The first winner of the million dollars was chosen on Saturday.
However, questions arise about the legality of this type of direct financial support to potential voters.
Most states make it a crime to pay people to vote, but it is rare for federal prosecutors to pursue election bribery charges. Supreme Court having further restricted the scope of corruption laws as recently as last July.
“I think the way he’s spending money in this race, dark money, not only in Pennsylvania, but apparently now in the pockets of Pennsylvanians, raises real questions. This is very worrying “, said Josh Shapirogovernor of Pennsylvania, during an appearance on NBC.
The cash distribution, which is part of Musk’s campaign tour in Pennsylvania, one of the key states, has prompted lawyers to argue that tying a financial incentive to signing a petition demanding voter registration could constitute a violation of United States election laws.
Is Musk at risk of legal trouble?
Additionally, some experts warn that this gift could be seen as an attempt to influence the outcome of elections by encouraging voters to register on the electoral lists.
Rick Hasena professor of political science at UCLA Law School, cited a law that prohibits paying to register to vote or to vote. “If all he did was pay people to sign the petition, it might be a waste of money. But there is nothing illegal about this.“, explained Mr. Hasen.
“The problem is that the only people allowed to participate in this giveaway are those who are registered to vote. So it’s illegal.”he added.
Mr. Musk has distributed checks at public events, including at Harrisburgin Pennsylvania, and plans to continue until the US election on November 5.
While some view this as a dubious legal move, Musk’s actions are part of a broader effort to mobilize support for Trump in key states.
Donald Trump, who was asked about the initiative during a campaign stop, said he was not following the situation closely, but called Elon Musk a friend and praised his contributions to the country.
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) generally prohibits coordination between campaigns and super PACS, (Political Action Committees), but recent rulings have permitted some collaborations, particularly in voter mobilization efforts.