By Peter Hall | Pennsylvania Capital-Star
If you got a check from Elon Musk’s pro-Trump super PAC, you might want to wait to cash it.
Since the uber-wealthy tech investor and Tesla CEO announced last week that he would pay registered voters to sign his gun rights and free speech petition, questions have swirled about the scheme’s legality.
It began with an offer to registered Pennsylvania voters of $47 and an invitation to attend one of Musk’s voter turnout-focused town halls for signing the petition. The amount later grew to $100.
On Saturday, Musk sweetened the deal. While campaigning for Trump in Harrisburg, Musk announced he would give away $1 million to a randomly chosen petition signer in one of seven crucial swing states every day until the election.
Election law experts say federal law explicitly forbids payments to induce people to register to vote or cast their ballots. Violators, both payers and payees, can face fines or jail time if they are prosecuted. Pennsylvania law is less clear, prohibiting pay for votes but not for registration.
Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro said in an interview Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Musk’s spending is “deeply concerning.”
“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 said, adding that Musk has a right to his views and to support GOP presidential nominee former President Donald Trump.
Shapiro stopped short of calling for an investigation when asked if he thought it might break the law.
“Yes, I think it’s something that law enforcement could take a look at. I’m not the attorney general anymore in Pennsylvania. I’m the governor, but it does raise some serious questions,” Shapiro said.
Musk’s PAC did not respond to messages seeking comment Monday.
Tom King III, former general counsel of the Pennsylvania Republican Party, disagreed. He told the Capital-Star the offer is not to pay for people to register to vote, but rather for people who are already registered to sign the petition.
“I don’t see how that relates to any particular campaign,” King said, adding that support for Trump and the constitutional rights to free speech and to bear arms are not mutually exclusive.
“It looks to me like Elon Musk has very strong opinions about the First Amendment and the Second Amendment,” King said. “He wants people to stand up for those rights. This is one way to get the public’s attention.”
At his first town hall meeting on Thursday, Musk told a crowd that he believed the “the future of America and the future of civilization is at stake” in the election.
“It’s very clear to me that Donald Trump has to win this election,” Musk, wearing a gold “Make America Great Again” ballcap, told the audience at Ridley High School in Delaware County.
Musk also has a business interest in the outcome of the election, with the potential for Trump to give Musk influence over the federal agencies with which he has contracts, the New York Times reported.
Asked about the giveaway as he campaigned Sunday in Pennsylvania, Trump said, “I haven’t followed that,” adding that he “speaks to Elon a lot,” calling him a friend and great for the country, the Associated Press reported.
Musk has contributed around $75 million to his pro-Trump America PAC in recent months, bringing his total spending this election cycle to over $119 million.
Such virtually unlimited spending in the political arena has been legal since 2010, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the free speech clause of the First Amendment prohibits the government from restricting independent expenditures for political contributions by corporations, nonprofits, unions and other associations.
The 5-4 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission led to the creation of a category of political action committee, known as “super PACs” that could spend unlimited sums as long as they do not directly coordinate with a candidate.
But the law against paying people to register or vote applies regardless of whether the payments are in direct support of a candidate, experts said.
“It is illegal to give out money on the condition that recipients register as voters,” said Adav Noti, executive director of the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center. “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 and is subject to civil or criminal enforcement by the Department of Justice.”
Paul Schiff Berman, a law professor at The George Washington University, said Musk’s offer is likely illegal under the Voting Rights Enforcement section of Title 52 of the U.S. Code. The law says, “Whoever … pays or offers to pay or accepts payment either for registration to vote or for voting shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than five years.”
“His offer is only open to registered voters, and it is intended to incentivize registering to vote, which is precisely what this statute prohibits,” Berman said. “So I think his offer runs afoul of this provision.”
To be eligible to win $1 million, voters must be registered in one of seven crucial swing states, Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, according to the America PAC website.
“Whether they like it or not, the law applies to billionaires too – and the law is clear: no matter how you structure it, it’s illegal to pay anyone to vote or to register to vote,” said Tiffany Muller, president of End Citizens United, a political action committee devoted to getting the Supreme Court decision reversed. “So it appears that what Elon Musk and his America PAC are doing is blatantly illegal and if allowed to go unchecked, it would set an incredibly dangerous precedent.”
Pennsylvania Capital-Star is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Pennsylvania Capital-Star maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kim Lyons for questions: info@penncapital-star.com. Follow Pennsylvania Capital-Star on Facebook and Twitter.
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