Donald Trump’s surrogate Elon Musk’s offer of one million dollars to a registered voter every day until US Election Day on November 5 has raised questions over the legality of such a move.
While Democratic candidate Kamala Harris’ campaign has not commented on the contest, Pennsylvania’s Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro said on NBC’s Meet the Press: “I think it’s something that law enforcement should be paying attention to.”
Musk, the world’s richest man, announced Saturday the contest in Pennsylvania, one of seven “swing states” that will likely determine who will become the next US president – Harris, or Republican Trump.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Musk said on his proprietary social media platform
The effort entered hot water with the requirement that people be registered to vote in swing states in order to participate.
Danielle Lang, a Georgetown Law School professor who specializes in election law, told AFP that the contest “could be subject to civil or criminal enforcement by the Justice Department.”
“It is illegal to give money on the condition that recipients be registered as voters,” he said.
He continued, “Since the terms of this ‘contest’ to win $1 million require recipients to be registered voters in one of the seven swing states (or must register if they have not already), it The proposal violates federal law.”
gray area
Rick Hasen, a professor of political science at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Law, expressed a similar sentiment on his Election Law blog.
He cited the specific law that bans anyone “who pays or offers to pay or accepts payment…” for registering to vote, and said the fine could be as high as $10,000. fine or imprisonment up to five years.
However, not everyone has the same mindset.
Brad Smith, former chairman of the Federal Election Commission, told the New York Times that what Musk is doing is “a gray area.”
Since Musk is not paying people to register directly, but rather to sign a petition, “I think he’s OK here,” Smith said.
On his part, Musk defended his move by saying it was a simple get out and vote effort.
“We want to make sure everyone in swing states hears about it and I suspect this will ensure they will,” he wrote on X.
Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO, has taken steps in recent weeks to support former President Trump, including donating $75 million to a pro-Trump political action committee and attending campaign rallies.
“Just go out there and talk to your friends and family and acquaintances and people you meet on the street and…convince them to vote,” he told the crowd at the rally, where he launched a petition contest. Announced.
Lang said such schemes occur “every election cycle.”
“We do see some businesses that engage in some questionable activities of this type (such as offering free items for displaying ‘I Voted’ stickers) but this one is notable for its large size,” he said.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
