The Department of Justice has advised the Elon Musk America PAC that his $1 million lottery open only “to registered voters in swing states may violate federal law,” according to CNN.
Federal law bars paying people to register to vote. The language of the petition currently promises $1 million prizes to people chosen at random for signing a petition in support of First and Second Amendment freedoms. But to sign the petition, you must be registered to vote in specific states.
On Sunday, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro had publicly questioned the legality of the daily $1 million lottery operated by Musk.
The Musk response:
Concerning that he would say such a thing https://t.co/BBbH6gjUPP
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 20, 2024
On Sunday, the second day of the sweepstakes, the super PAC reframed its messaging around the giveaway, describing the money as payment for a job. In social media posts, the group said winners would be “selected to earn $1M as a spokesperson for America PAC” – and subsequently posted pro-Trump testimonial videos featuring the winners.
That framing doesn’t change the requirement that you be a registered voter in a swing state to participate in the lottery.
This past weekend, Rick Hasen, law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, wrote in Election Law Blog that Musk had “Veer[ed] Into Clearly Illegal Vote Buying.”
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The stakes in November have never been more urgent, nor the choices more extreme.
Remember: you are not voting for one person. You are voting for a team.
I’m voting for Team America not Team Russia-Hungary-North Korea.
Known for gnawing at complex questions like a terrier with a bone. Digital evangelist, writer, teacher. Transplanted Southerner; teach newbies to ride motorcycles. @kegill (Twitter and Mastodon.social); wiredpen.com