Elon Musk’s $1 million gift to voters may be illegal, experts say
(CNN) — While campaigning for former President Donald Trump, tech billionaire Elon Musk announced Saturday that he would give $1 million every day to registered voters in battleground states, immediately drawing scrutiny from election law experts who said the gift would violate those laws. may violate laws that prevent people from paying to register.
“We want to try to get a million, maybe two million more voters in battleground states to sign petitions in support of the First and Second Amendments (…) We’ll randomly select people who sign a “We’re going to be awarding million dollars to petitions, every day, from now until the election,” Musk said at a campaign event in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
The ex-owner and CEO of Tesla was referring to a petition by his political action committee reaffirming his support of free speech and gun ownership rights. “This program is open exclusively to registered voters in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, and North Carolina,” says the website, launched shortly before some registration deadlines passed.
Musk, the world’s richest man, donated more than $75 million to his pro-Trump super PAC and said he hoped the gift would boost Trump’s voter registration. He recently campaigned in Pennsylvania, where he held events in defense of Trump, promoted his petition and spread conspiracy theories about the 2020 election.
“This is a one-time request,” Musk told the crowd shortly after the million-dollar prize was announced. “Just go out and talk to your friends, family, acquaintances and people you meet on the street and (…) convince them to vote. Obviously, they have to register, make sure they’re registered and (…) make sure they vote.
The first million-dollar winner was announced Saturday, and Musk presented a large check to a Trump supporter at his event in Harrisburg, saying, “Anyway, you’re welcome.” He announced the second winner during an event in Pittsburgh this Sunday afternoon, and ordered another check on a stage decorated with large signs that read: “Vote Early.”
In an interview Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said Musk’s gift was “very concerning” and “something that officials might look into.” Shapiro, a Democrat, was previously a state attorney.
Federal law makes it a crime for anyone to “pay or offer to pay or accept payment, whether to register to vote or to vote” and is punishable by up to five years in prison. .
“When you start earmarking rewards or gifts only for registered voters or only for people who vote, concerns about bribery arise,” said Derek Mueller, an election law expert who teaches at Notre Dame Law School. “By limiting gifts to only registered voters, it appears as if cash is being given in exchange for voter registration.”
Offering money to people who have already registered before the cash prize is announced may violate federal law, Mueller said, but the offer could also include “people who are not yet registered” and potentially “new registrations.” The incentives for are far more problematic.”
Mueller, who is also a CNN contributor, said most states only consider paying people to vote a crime. He said it is rare for federal prosecutors to bring election bribery cases and that the Supreme Court is limiting the scope of bribery laws.
Despite the slim chances of Musk being prosecuted, other respected election law experts strongly condemned the billionaire’s behavior.
“This is not a particularly difficult case — that’s exactly what the law was designed to do,” said David Baker, a former Justice Department official who handled voting rights cases and founder of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation and Research.
Baker said the fact that the prize is only available to registered voters in one of the seven key states that can influence the outcome of a presidential election is strong evidence of Musk’s intent to influence the race, which would be legally problematic. It is possible
“This offer was made in the last few days before some registration deadlines,” Baker said, reinforcing the idea that the cash prizes are designed to boost registration.
Rick Hasen, an election law expert and Trump critic at the UCLA School of Law, said in a blog post that Musk’s gift was “clearly illegal vote buying.” He said the Justice Department’s Election Crimes Manual specifically states that it is illegal to offer “lottery opportunities” that are “with the intent to induce or reward” actions such as voter registration.
Another top Democratic official, Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, criticized Musk for “spreading dangerous misinformation” about the integrity of voter rolls after falsely claiming there were more voters in the state than citizens.