Elon Musk’s US$1 million election giveaway checks limits of election legislation

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2024 10 21t203134z 2 Lynxmpek9k0pm Rtroptp 3 Usa Election Musk
2024 10 21t203134z 2 lynxmpek9k0pm rtroptp 3 usa election musk

Elon Musk’s US$1 million giveaway for voters who signal his free-speech and gun-rights petition falls right into a grey space of election legislation, and authorized consultants are divided about whether or not the billionaire supporter of Donald Trump may very well be operating afoul of prohibitions on paying folks to register to vote.

The Tesla CEO is promising to provide US$1 million every day to a randomly chosen one that indicators his on-line petition pledging to assist the First and Second amendments of the US Constitution, which defend the rights to free speech and gun possession.

“There is certainly an argument that this falls within the scope of a federal prohibition on paying a person to vote or register to vote,” stated Daniel Weiner of the left-leaning Brennan Center for Justice. “This is part of a pattern of him skating up to the edge of election laws that we’ve seen in the past several weeks.” 

Musk’s representatives didn’t instantly reply to requests for touch upon Monday (Oct 21). 

Four authorized consultants have been divided on whether or not the giveaway violates US federal legal guidelines that make it against the law to pay or provide to pay an individual to register to vote.

Brad Smith, a Capital University Law School professor and former Federal Election Commission chairman, stated Musk is probably going within the clear as a result of signing the petition is sufficiently far faraway from registering to vote.

“The mere fact that there might be an incentive doesn’t arise to a payment for a particular activity,” Smith stated.

The giveaway may very well be interpreted as Musk utilizing his wealth to try to affect the tightly contested presidential race between Trump and his Democratic opponent, US Vice President Kamala Harris. 

Musk’s America PAC seeks to play a serious position in serving to mobilise and register voters in battleground states that would determine the election. 

Terms of the petition state that signers should be registered voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania or Wisconsin – all states which might be more likely to determine the US election.  

Pennsylvania’s Democratic governor, Josh Shapiro, stated on Sunday that the giveaway was “deeply concerning” and called on law enforcement to investigate. 

While Musk’s promotion does not directly induce people to register, its timing and focus on battleground states indicate the petition component is merely a pretext, according to Richard Hasen, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, who said the sweepstakes is therefore illegal. 

“I think signing the petition is irrelevant to the legal question because you must be a registered voter. It doesn’t matter if you add other conditions,” Hasen said, adding that the US Department of Justice election crimes manual specifically cites lottery chances as potentially illegal payments. 

Adav Noti of the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center agreed, saying it is illegal to give out money on the condition that people are registered to vote.

Weiner of the Brennan Center said the promotion is legally “fishy” but falls into a grey area. The question boils down to whether signing the petition is merely a pretext for getting people to register to vote, he said.

But Smith of Capital University said that Musk has other plausible reasons for wanting people to sign the petition, including gathering names of likely voters who support his causes.

Musk, ranked by Forbes as the world’s richest person, so far has supplied at least US$75 million to America PAC, according to federal disclosures, making the group a crucial part of Trump’s bid to regain the White House.

The entrepreneur has increasingly supported Republican causes and this year became an outspoken Trump supporter.

Trump in turn has said that if elected, he would appoint Musk to head a government efficiency commission.

Asked by reporters about Musk’s giveaway on Sunday, Trump said: “I have never adopted that.”

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