Updated 11:12 am Pacific
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner has sued Elon Musk’s political action committee in order to stop the $1 million voter lottery in Pennsylvania. Krasner called “it an illegal lottery that skirts state requirements and violates consumer protection laws.” Musk is also running the lottery in other battleground states; lotteries and raffles are regulated in each of them.
The Krasner suit is the first to be filed since Musk launched the million-dollar giveaway on October 19.
Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice “warned America PAC that its $1 million daily sweepstakes might violate federal election law.”
A court hearing on Krasner’s application for a preliminary injunction against Musk and the PAC that would block them from continuing the daily award was set for Friday morning in Philadelphia.
“America PAC and Elon Musk are running an illegal lottery in Philadelphia (as well as throughout Pennsylvania),” the suit in Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas says.
The suit notes that at an Oct. 19 campaign rally, Musk announced that if a registered voter turned over personal identifying information — address, cell phone and email address — and signed a petition pledging support for the Constitution, they would be eligible to be selected randomly for a $1 million prize.
To sign the Musk petition and be eligible for the giveaway, citizens must be a registered voter in one of these swing states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania or Wisconsin. The deadline to sign the petition was October 21, “which happens to be the voter registration deadline in Pennsylvania.”
Musk has given away $9 million according to the petition website, with four of the nine winners being Pennsylvania residents. According to Krasner, the four had also attended rallies, suggesting the drawing is not truly random.
A spokesperson for the billionaire tech mogul’s America PAC, emailed for comment on the lawsuit and asked if the cash awards would continue, responded with a link to an X post, which showed the latest $1 million winner holding an oversized check.
Lotteries are regulated
A lottery is “an event or affair whose outcome is or seems to be determined by chance.”
In this case, only registered voters in seven states who had signed a petition were eligible for a $1 million daily payout.
I am not a lawyer, but it appears on the surface that the Musk lottery is illegal in every state where it is being offered because of state gambling laws.
- Arizona: “Arizona state lottery laws specifically earmark 29 percent of all lottery revenues for state funds and projects, and half of the revenue for prizes for winners.”
- Florida: “Bingo, sweepstakes, and drawings for chance [are legal], if they comply with state law… certain types of organizations, such as charities, nonprofit organizations, veterans’ organizations, fraternal organizations, and retirement communities, may be permitted to offer certain types of gambling activities to their patrons provided certain requirements are met.”
- Georgia: “The only forms of gambling allowed in Georgia are the Georgia State Lottery, charitable raffles, and bingo games”
- Michigan: “[S]tate lottery laws require the net revenue after payment of prizes and expenses (about 45 percent) to be placed into the state school aid fund which supports the operation of public education programs.”
- Nevada: “Nevada’s state constitution is clear: ‘no lottery may be authorized by this State, nor may lottery tickets be sold’.”
- North Carolina: “Raffles are limited by law to four per year for a nonprofit organization. North Carolina also limits the maximum value for any one raffle, as well as in total for both cash and non-cash prizes.”
- Wisconsin: “Raffle licenses can only be granted to a local religious, charitable, service, fraternal, veterans, or 501(c)(3) organization in Wisconsin, which have been in existence for at least one (1) year or that is chartered by a state or national organization which has been in existence for at least three (3) years.”
Last week, the Pennsylvania governor called for law enforcement to weigh in.
At a minimum, every major daily and leading local TV news station should be asking these attorneys general why they are not investigating the lottery. There are no news reports suggesting this has occurred for any state other than Pennsylvania.
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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