Despite the fact that, in the U.S., it is illegal to pay someone to vote, not vote, or register to vote, Elon Musk has been making it rain on the American electorate. It all started approximately two weeks ago when the billionaire began offering registered voters in swing states payments of $47. What for? To recruit other voters to sign a vague petition “to support the Constitution.” Nothing wrong with that, right? Well, except for the fact that we’re in the middle of a fraught presidential election and Musk has been doing everything in his power to get one candidate (Donald Trump) elected. Getting elected requires voters and, to vote, you need to be registered to vote. Given this context, some might argue (and have argued) that Musk is financially incentivizing voter registration in swing states.
Not long after his initial $47 offering, Musk upped the payment to $100. Then, several days ago, Musk escalated things drastically. He announced that, every single day until the election, he will give away a million dollars to a registered voter who signs his petition. As of this writing, Musk has already doled out two $1 million payments to individual voters.
Critics have maintained that Musk is basically trying to buy votes for Trump, or is running a paid voter registration drive, both of which would be against the law. One political science scholar, UCLA’s Rick Hasen, claims Musk’s activities constitute “clearly illegal vote-buying.” Now, Justice Department officials confirm they have received complaints about Musk’s lottery-style giveaways, though it’s unclear whether they plan to do anything about it.
On Monday, the Washington Post reported that a number of former Republican officials sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, asking the Justice Department to look into Musk’s payments to voters. The letter was signed by a number of former highly-placed officials, including former governor of New Jersey Christine Todd Whitman, former special adviser to Vice President Olivia Troye, and former chairman of the Federal Election Commission Trevor Potter, among others. The letter was also addressed to numerous district attorneys in Pennsylvania.
“We are aware of nothing like this in modern political history,” the letter states, in reference to Musk’s payments. “We urge you to investigate whether America PAC’s payments are prohibited payments for voter registration. We recognize that they are framed as payments for signing a petition, or for referring voters who sign. But many of the payments are restricted to registered voters, so anyone who wishes to get paid must first register.” Were Musk found guilty of such a crime, he could spend up to five years in prison.
Gizmodo reached out to Musk via Tesla. We also reached out to the Justice Department. A source familiar with Musk’s America PAC told CBS news: “The PAC is confident in the legality of this initiative and the predictable media meltdown is only helping AmericaPAC’s efforts to support President Trump.” Musk has previously claimed that anyone (irregardless of political affiliation) can win his daily $1 million prize, so long as they sign his petition.
Musk’s payments to voters obviously puts the Justice Department in a difficult position. We are a mere two weeks out from the election, which means that any effort to investigate or stop Musk could have a politicized effect. Should the government pursue action against Musk, it could easily be spun by Musk and other rightwing trolls as an attack on registered voters, who obviously stand to gain from the billionaire’s handouts.
Musk, who has been running Trump’s canvassing operations in major swing states, has poured tens of millions of dollars into a campaign that is increasingly inventive and bizarre. On Tuesday, a new report claimed that Musk’s political action group, America PAC, had been buying ads for Donald Trump on Musk’s own web platform, X (formerly Twitter). Previously, America PAC has been criticized for a number of other issues and purported irregularities. All of that said, the jury is still out on whether Musk is actually helping Trump win. Some high-level officials within the GOP have voiced concerns that Musk’s efforts aren’t actually all that effective. Previous reporting has suggested that the canvassing operations being manned by Musk-funded PACs are not making a dent.
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