The Justice Department has warned billionaire Elon Musk’s America PAC that its $1 million daily giveaways to registered voters may violate federal law, US media reported Wednesday.
Musk, the world’s richest man, announced the contest on Saturday in Pennsylvania, one of the seven “swing states” that will likely determine who will become the next US president — Donald Trump or Kamala Harris.
Musk, a Trump supporter, announced plans to give $1 million to one registered voter in a swing state every day until the US election on November 5.
The Justice Department’s letter to Musk’s political action committee, according to CNN and 24sight News, warns that the $1 million contest might be in violation of federal law, which forbids paying anyone to register to vote.
The Department of Justice refrained from commenting.
The contest’s winners are selected at random, but they have to be eligible voters. Additionally, they must sign a petition endorsing “free speech and the right to bear arms.”
Earlier this week, Danielle Lang, an election law expert at Georgetown Law School, told AFP that the election may be “subject to civil or criminal enforcement by the Department of Justice.”
“It is illegal to give out money on the condition that recipients register as voters,” Lang said.
“As the terms of this ‘contest’ to win $1 million require the recipient to be a registered voter in one of seven swing states (or to register if they have not already), the offer violates federal law,” she said.
Tesla and SpaceX CEO Musk has pulled out all the stops in recent weeks to support former president Trump, including donating $75 million to a pro-Trump political action committee and appearing at campaign rallies.
