Elon Musk is offering a $1 million award per day for swing state voters. What do legal experts say?
Election law experts said billionaire Elon Musk’s offer to award $1 million per day until the Nov. 5 election to people in swing states who sign his petition supporting the Constitution could be investigated by law enforcement.
Musk announced the prizes, distributed through his political action committee America PAC, on Saturday at a rally supporting Donald Trump. The first winner, a man named John Dreher, was selected at the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, event.
"By the way, John had no idea. So anyway, you're welcome," Musk said as he handed Dreher an oversized check.
Musk has quickly become one of Trump's most prominent supporters. The Space X founder has appeared with Trump on the campaign trail and committed tens of millions of dollars to support the former president's reelection bid.
The petition from Musk's PAC states the goal is to “get 1 million registered voters in swing states to sign in support of the Constitution, especially freedom of speech and the right to bear arms.”
The site explicitly says the program is open only to registered voters in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin and North Carolina. The deadline to register is Monday.
The petition also offers $100 to each registered swing-state voter who signs and $100 for referring a registered voter to sign.
Musk's organization choosing those states isn't a coincidence: They're the battlegrounds that will likely determine the results of the presidential election. Campaigns have been courting voters in the states for months.
Is Elon Musk's giveaway legal?
The Tesla CEO's push raised eyebrows over the weekend – and sweeping legal questions.
Federal election law says whoever “pays or offers to pay or accepts payment either for the registration to vote or for voting” is violating the law.
The Justice Department's election crimes manual says an unlawful bribe can be anything of monetary value, including lottery chances, that make it easier for people to vote or induce them not to vote. The definition doesn't include a free ride to the polls.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro told NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday that Musk’s plan to give money to registered voters in Pennsylvania is “deeply concerning” and “it’s something that law enforcement could take a look at.”
He wasn't alone. Rick Hasen, a law professor at University of California Los Angeles, said in a blog post that he believes the program appears to violate the law.
“Though maybe some of the other things Musk was doing were of murky legality, this one is clearly illegal,” Hasen wrote.
Not all experts agreed. Michael Kang, an election law professor at Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law, told the Associated Press that the group launching the giveaway within weeks of Election Day is concerning. He explained, "It’s not quite the same as paying someone to vote, but you’re getting close enough that we worry about its legality."
Brad Smith, a former chair of the Federal Election Commission, told the New York Times that because Musk is paying people to sign a petition, not to register to vote, he "comes out OK" in the weeks leading up to Election Day.
The Federal Election Commission doesn't confirm whether it is investigating potential enforcement matters, but has a site to register complaints, spokesperson Myles Martin said when asked about the giveaway.
America PAC didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Elon Musk's $1 million payments to voters raise legal questions