Elon Musk is giving people $1 million to vote

Tech billionaire Elon Musk presented an audience member with a $1 million check at a rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where he has been frustrated by Trump, on Saturday. And he said he would continue to give that award to one random voter a day until the November 5 presidential election. The move would violate US election law.

Only people who signed the petition from Musk’s America PAC are eligible for the sweepstakes-style offer. And only registered voters are eligible to sign the petition. According to its terms, Musk will give $1 million to someone in Pittsburgh today, but later it will be extended to anyone who lives in swing states like Georgia, Nevada, or Arizona.

It’s against federal law to force anyone to vote or register to vote and Musk’s $1 million rewards are “clearly illegal,” UCLA political science professor Rick Hasen wrote on the Election Law Blog. He cites 52 USC 10307 (c), which states that anyone who “pays or promises to pay or accepts payment to register to vote or to vote” can face a $10,000 fine or five years in prison. There are also some questionable legal aspects of the pledge, including bonuses for signatories and getting others to sign.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said Meet the media this morning that the offer is “deeply concerning.” He stopped short of calling it illegal, saying he is no longer the state’s Attorney General, but said the plot “is something law enforcement can look into.”

Hasen said NBC News that the fact that the petition is open only to registered voters may be what puts it over the top. Federal authorities could prosecute Musk or warn him to stop the program, he said. The United States Department of Justice will prosecute him for violating the law in a state court; A federal agency or private party can also file a civil lawsuit.

Any of these will take time. Musk may be hoping that Trump, who has pardoned his accomplices and is less likely to allow the DOJ to punish a major contributor, will win and make the legal questions irrelevant. Even if the former President does not win, Musk already has a history of breaking the law with few consequences in the US. But on the other hand, it’s an open question how much Musk’s sweepstakes will help Trump — and whether he can restore a rumored weakness in the candidate’s traditional campaign game.