Josh Shapiro, the governor of Pennsylvania, said law enforcement should look into Elon Musk’s new ploy to give $1m to a registered voter who signs a petition supporting free speech in key swing states each day until the US presidential election.
Legal experts have said it appears to violate laws that prohibit giving incentives to people to register to vote. On Sunday, Shapiro expressed similar concerns. Monday is Pennsylvania’s deadline to register to vote.
“I think there are real questions with how he is spending money in this race, how the dark money is flowing, not just into Pennsylvania, but apparently now into the pockets of Pennsylvanians,” Shapiro told NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday. “That is deeply concerning.”
Later in the interview Shapiro added: “I think it’s something that law enforcement should take a look at. I’m not the attorney general any more of Pennsylvania, I’m the governor, but it does raise serious questions.”
Since Musk announced the plan on Saturday, he has given the prize to two registered voters in Pennsylvania. Signing the petition is also now a prerequisite to attend Musk’s town hall events.
Last week, it was reported that so far, Musk has given roughly $75m over the last three months to his political action committee, America Pac, which is supporting Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign and through which he is organizing the giveaway.
With just 14 days remaining until the presidential election, Musk’s petition and giveaway seem primarily aimed at encouraging Trump voters to register to vote, concerning election experts.
Several legal experts have said that Musk appeared to be violating federal election laws that prohibit paying or offering to pay for someone to register to vote or vote.
Rick Hasen, a UCLA law professor, called it “illegal vote buying”, saying that the America Pac $1m prize draw seems to be an illegal scheme as it offered the payments to registered voters.
“Though maybe some of the other things Musk was doing were of murky legality, this one is clearly illegal,” Hasen said.
“Who can sign the petitions? Only registered voters in swing states, which is what makes it illegal.”
David Becker, a former justice department official and founder of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation & Research, told CNN that because the prize is only available to registered voters “in one of seven swing states that could affect the outcome of the presidential election”, it’s evidence of Musk’s intent to sway the race, which could raise legal issues.