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Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner filed a lawsuit on Monday against Elon Musk and his super political action committee (PAC), alleging that their $1 million daily giveaway to registered voters in swing states (including in Pennsylvania) was illegal.
Several experts believe that the giveaway, administered by the billionaire’s America PAC, runs afoul of federal election laws. But Krasner’s filing also suggests that it’s in violation of state laws regarding the administering of lotteries.
All lotteries in the state, Krasner argued, must be regulated by Pennsylvania officials. Musk’s giveaway was not.
Musk’s scheme is asking registered voters to sign a petition that states they agree with the tenets of the First and Second Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. While the lottery doesn’t directly ask people to register to vote, the award is only eligible to those who are registered. Payments can only go to individuals who reside in swing states.
In Pennsylvania specifically — a notable swing state with 19 Electoral College votes up for grabs — Musk is also giving every person who is registered to vote and signs the petition $100.
Krasner’s suit against Musk and his PAC forcefully laid out the case for why the giveaway must be stopped:
America PAC and Musk are lulling Philadelphia citizens — and others in the Commonwealth (and other swing states in the upcoming election) — to give up their personal identifying information and make a political pledge in exchange for the chance to win $1 million. That is a lottery. And it is indisputably an unlawful lottery. Under unambiguous Pennsylvania law, all lotteries in Pennsylvania must be regulated by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Krasner’s lawsuit says that Musk’s lottery “must be stopped, immediately,” noting that it is a “scheme to influence voters.” A state judge could rule on the matter as soon as this week.
Pennsylvania State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D) lauded Krasner’s lawsuit for tackling Musk’s daily lottery.
“Krasner’s filing makes a serious case that America PAC and Musk hatched an illegal scheme that makes misleading promises to voters while threatening Americans’ right to a free & fair election,” Kenyatta said on X.
Musk has insisted that his contest is not based on rewarding people to vote, particularly for Donald Trump, the GOP presidential nominee the billionaire has been stumping hard for on the campaign trail. The Department of Justice (DOJ), however, has warned that Musk’s scheme is likely in violation of federal law — but despite that warning, the DOJ has so far not taken action to address the daily lottery for registered voters.
U.S. law forbids anyone from paying or offering to pay “either for registration to vote or for voting,” with the maximum punishment for anyone in violation of that law being either a $10,000 fine, up to five years in prison, or both.
Derek Muller, an election law expert and professor at Notre Dame Law School, suggested earlier this month that the scheme by Musk’s America PAC was skirting the limits of election law, particularly because the rules on who qualified to win the $1 million prize were very specific.
“When you start limiting prizes or giveaways to only registered voters or only people who have voted, that’s where bribery concerns arise,” Muller said in a social media post. “By limiting a giveaway only to registered voters, it looks like you’re giving cash for voter registration.”
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