Election law experts said over the weekend that billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s latest ploy to entice voters in battleground states to sign his “petition in favor of free speech and the right to bear arms” appears to be flagrantly illegal.
According to Musk, an outspoken supporter of Republican nominee Donald Trump, the scheme involves a random $1 million payment each day to one registered voter who signs the petition, which is officially hosted by a super PAC founded and financed by Musk.
Rick Hasen, a law professor at UCLA, argued that by only offering the $1 million reward to registered voters in swing states, Musk’s effort amounts to “clearly illegal vote-buying.”
In a blog post, Hasen pointed to 52 U.S.C. 10307(c), which states that anyone who “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.”
“I’d like to hear if there’s anyone who thinks this is not a clear case of a violation,” Hasen wrote.
According to the petition website, only registered voters in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, and North Carolina are eligible for the $1 million prize.
Musk’s super PAC is also offering $47 to people who refer other registered voters to sign the petition.
Derek Muller, an election law expert at Notre Dame Law School, said Sunday that “when you start limiting prizes or giveaways to only registered voters or only people who have voted, that’s where bribery concerns arise.”
“By limiting a giveaway only to registered voters,” Muller added, “it looks like you’re giving cash for voter registration.”
Musk announced the price Saturday during a town hall event in Pennsylvania, declaring that “every day between now and the election we will be awarding $1 million, starting tonight.” As NBC News reported, “Musk delivered the first of the checks Saturday to a man who emerged from the crowd to loud cheers, saying the man ‘had no idea’ he’d be selected.”
“The only thing we ask for the million dollars is that you be a spokesperson for the petition,” said Musk. “And that’s it, really.”
Following the town hall, Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro called Musk’s scheme “deeply concerning” and said it is “something that law enforcement could take a look at.”
“Musk obviously has a right to be able to express his views,” Shapiro added. “He’s made it very, very clear that he supports Donald Trump. I don’t. Obviously we have a difference of opinion. I don’t deny him that… but when you start flowing this kind of money into politics, I think it raises serious questions.”
We’re not backing down in the face of Trump’s threats.
As Donald Trump is inaugurated a second time, independent media organizations are faced with urgent mandates: Tell the truth more loudly than ever before. Do that work even as our standard modes of distribution (such as social media platforms) are being manipulated and curtailed by forces of fascist repression and ruthless capitalism. Do that work even as journalism and journalists face targeted attacks, including from the government itself. And do that work in community, never forgetting that we’re not shouting into a faceless void – we’re reaching out to real people amid a life-threatening political climate.
Our task is formidable, and it requires us to ground ourselves in our principles, remind ourselves of our utility, dig in and commit.
As a dizzying number of corporate news organizations – either through need or greed – rush to implement new ways to further monetize their content, and others acquiesce to Trump’s wishes, now is a time for movement media-makers to double down on community-first models.
At Truthout, we are reaffirming our commitments on this front: We won’t run ads or have a paywall because we believe that everyone should have access to information, and that access should exist without barriers and free of distractions from craven corporate interests. We recognize the implications for democracy when information-seekers click a link only to find the article trapped behind a paywall or buried on a page with dozens of invasive ads. The laws of capitalism dictate an unending increase in monetization, and much of the media simply follows those laws. Truthout and many of our peers are dedicating ourselves to following other paths – a commitment which feels vital in a moment when corporations are evermore overtly embedded in government.
Over 80 percent of Truthout‘s funding comes from small individual donations from our community of readers, and the remaining 20 percent comes from a handful of social justice-oriented foundations. Over a third of our total budget is supported by recurring monthly donors, many of whom give because they want to help us keep Truthout barrier-free for everyone.
You can help by giving today. Whether you can make a small monthly donation or a larger gift, Truthout only works with your support.