Philadelphia sues Musk over $1m voter giveaways
Published: 04:10 PM,Oct 29,2024 | EDITED : 07:10 PM,Oct 29,2024
Elon Musk at a rally for former President Donald Trump at Madison Square Garden in New York. — NYT
District Attorney Larry Krasner of Philadelphia filed a lawsuit on Monday to stop Elon Musk and his Trump-supporting organisation, America PAC, from continuing their $1 million daily giveaway in Pennsylvania, calling it an illegal lottery scheme to influence voters in the presidential election. Musk’s giveaway, which had already prompted the Justice Department to warn that it might violate federal law, purports to “randomly” reward registered voters in seven battleground states who signed a conservative petition by America PAC, which is mobilising voters to support former president Donald Trump.
“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 lawsuit said. “That is a lottery. And it is indisputably an unlawful lottery.” The civil suit, which names Musk and America PAC as defendants, requests that a state court halt further operation of the sweepstakes in Pennsylvania.
The suit also accuses Musk and America PAC of violating state consumer protection laws by deploying deceptive or misleading statements. As one example, Krasner argues that winners are not, in fact, random because “multiple winners that have been selected are individuals who have shown up at Trump rallies in Pennsylvania.”
America PAC responded to a request for comment on Monday by sending a post on the social media platform X about a recent $1 million winner of the sweepstakes in Michigan. Allies of Musk have previously argued that the giveaway awards people only for signing a petition, rather than paying them to register.
Musk, the richest person in the world and the head of X, Tesla, and SpaceX, has aggressively thrown his support behind Trump in Pennsylvania in recent weeks. In addition to appearing at rallies and town halls in support of the Republican presidential nominee, Musk has also poured at least $119 million into his pro-Trump super political action committee.
Musk introduced the petition, which pledges support for the First and Second Amendments, earlier this month and gradually increased the incentives for signing it over time. Initially, those who referred signers received $47 per referral, which raised eyebrows among some election-law experts. The amount was then increased to $100, and Musk said he would pay both the signatory and the referrer. But Musk soon raised the stakes to $1 million, prompting significantly increased scrutiny.
The Justice Department’s letter last week to America PAC warned that the giveaway may violate federal laws against paying voters. While such warning letters typically do not outline the next steps if violations continue, they are intended to suggest that further activity could result in a criminal investigation. The petition and the sweepstakes show no sign of slowing down. The petition has reached its stated goal of collecting more than 1 million signatories. And so far, 10 $1 million payments have been awarded.
“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 lawsuit said. “That is a lottery. And it is indisputably an unlawful lottery.” The civil suit, which names Musk and America PAC as defendants, requests that a state court halt further operation of the sweepstakes in Pennsylvania.
The suit also accuses Musk and America PAC of violating state consumer protection laws by deploying deceptive or misleading statements. As one example, Krasner argues that winners are not, in fact, random because “multiple winners that have been selected are individuals who have shown up at Trump rallies in Pennsylvania.”
America PAC responded to a request for comment on Monday by sending a post on the social media platform X about a recent $1 million winner of the sweepstakes in Michigan. Allies of Musk have previously argued that the giveaway awards people only for signing a petition, rather than paying them to register.
Musk, the richest person in the world and the head of X, Tesla, and SpaceX, has aggressively thrown his support behind Trump in Pennsylvania in recent weeks. In addition to appearing at rallies and town halls in support of the Republican presidential nominee, Musk has also poured at least $119 million into his pro-Trump super political action committee.
Musk introduced the petition, which pledges support for the First and Second Amendments, earlier this month and gradually increased the incentives for signing it over time. Initially, those who referred signers received $47 per referral, which raised eyebrows among some election-law experts. The amount was then increased to $100, and Musk said he would pay both the signatory and the referrer. But Musk soon raised the stakes to $1 million, prompting significantly increased scrutiny.
The Justice Department’s letter last week to America PAC warned that the giveaway may violate federal laws against paying voters. While such warning letters typically do not outline the next steps if violations continue, they are intended to suggest that further activity could result in a criminal investigation. The petition and the sweepstakes show no sign of slowing down. The petition has reached its stated goal of collecting more than 1 million signatories. And so far, 10 $1 million payments have been awarded.