Posted on: October 28, 2024, 11:56h.
Last updated on: October 28, 2024, 11:56h.
The Pennsylvania District Attorney’s Office is suing Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, over his controversial plan to hand out $1 million a day to a registered voter in key swing states until November 5.
The Space X and Telsa founder and his pro-Trump super PAC, America PAC, are encouraging registered voters in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, and North Carolina to sign a petition in support of free speech and gun rights.
Signatories in Pennsylvania get an additional “special offer”: $100, plus another $100 for each person they refer who signs. Meanwhile, one winner from the battleground states drawn at random each day wins the million-dollar prize.
Supporters of the scheme say all Musk is doing is asking people to sign a form. But last Wednesday, it appeared Musk had canned the controversial scheme after receiving a letter from the Justice Department warning him it could be illegal.
Under federal law, it’s a crime punishable by up to five years in prison to “pay or offer to pay or accept payment either for registration to vote or for voting.”
Back from the Dead
There was a hiatus in winner announcements after that, leading media outlets to jump to the conclusion the lottery had been discontinued. But it resumed Thursday night when America PAC announced the first winners from Michigan and Wisconsin on its website.
On Monday, Pennsylvania DA Larry Krasner filed a lawsuit in Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas that seeks to halt the sweepstakes in the Keystone State.
America PAC and Elon Musk are running an illegal lottery in Philadelphia (as well as throughout Pennsylvania),” the lawsuit states.
“In other words, 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,” the suit says.
“That is a lottery,” it adds. “And it is indisputably an unlawful lottery.”
‘Vote Buying’
Rick Hansen, Professor of Political Science at UCLA School of Law, has called the scheme “clearly illegal.”
He cites the DOJ Election Crimes Manual, which notes that “vote-buying” is bribery under the US Constitution. Such a bribe “must have been intended to induce or reward the voter for engaging in one or more acts necessary to cast a ballot,” according to the manual, which mentions “lottery chances” as an illegal inducement.
Paradoxically, this would make Musk’s pro-US Constitution petition unconstitutional.
