Earn money by signing a petition. This is what Elon Musk proposes to American citizens who live in the seven “undecided states”, decisive states in the race for the White House. Not only can they receive up to $100, they also have the chance to win $1 million through a contest.
“Every day from now until November 5, America PAC (the name of Elon Musk’s political action committee, editor’s note) will give $1 million to a person in key states who signed our petition to support freedom of expression and the right to bear arms!”, he announced on X (ex-Twitter) this Sunday, October 20.
Launched in early October, this petition previously offered $47 to any Internet user who sponsored another Internet user who signed the text online, and $100 in Pennsylvania, a particularly disputed state. He proposes conservative ideas to attract signatories who are likely to lean in favor of Donald Trump.
For Elon Musk, who aspires to one million signatories, the objective is to massively collect the phone numbers of the signatories and their sponsors (data that must be provided to receive the money) to contact them and mobilize them for the November elections. 5.
With votes down to a few tens of thousands of votes in the seven key states, that goal could help tilt the election in favor of Donald Trump, the candidate supported by Elon Musk.
Near the red line
Elon Musk clarified, in another message, that they can “belong to any political party or no political party,” but also that they do not need to vote to try to win a million dollars. Despite these warnings to avoid being accused of buying votes, Musk’s initiative raises questions from a legal point of view.
Several experts consider it illegal, including Richard Hasen, an American lawyer and law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. “While some of Musk’s other activities may have been of questionable legality, this one is clearly illegal,” he said on his blog, Election Law Blog.
This provision applies to “general, special, or primary elections held solely or in part for the purpose of selecting or electing a candidate,” including for the office of president, the United States Code states.
…and legal
A U.S. Department of Justice election crimes manual further states that the ban covers “anything of monetary value, including cash, alcohol, lottery odds, and social benefits like food stamps.”
If some specialists believe that Elon Musk crossed the red line by buying voters, other experts do not share this opinion. The former president of the United States Federal Electoral Commission, Bradley Smith, considers that the reward promised by the billionaire is too indirect to be illegal: in fact, Elon Musk’s petition pays those who register on the lists, but also to who were already registered in the past.
“I would say that it does not pay them to register on the electoral lists,” he declared to the Wall Street Journalensuring that “most of the benefits go to people already registered on the electoral lists.”
Which could diminish the scope of accusations that Musk is buying voter registrations – and potentially votes – for voters attracted to the ideas promoted by his petition.
Source: BFM TV
