Published on: October 21, 2024, 02:33h.
Last updated on: October 21, 2024, 02:33h.
Betting on the outcome of the Presidential Election may be legal in the US – for now, at least – but pro-Trump tech billionaire Elon Musk’s lottery scheme to encourage swing-state voters is a bridge too far for some.
Musk has vowed he will give away $1 million a day to a registered voter in key battlegrounds until November 5. Each winner will be chosen at random from a list of those who sign a petition pledging to support free speech and gun rights.
Each voter who adds their name to the list could be contacted by Musk’s PRO-Trump Super PAC, America PAC, about their vote.
The Space X and Telsa founder rolled out his electoral sweepstake in Pennsylvania two days ago, and there have already been two winners. Keystone Staters are also getting $100 simply for signing the petition, plus another $100 for each person they refer who signs.
Musk plans to expand the competition to include Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, and North Carolina this week.
Gamifying the Election
Supporters of the scheme say all Musk is doing is asking people to sign a form, hardly an unusual tactic for a political action committee.
But critics say he is essentially “gamifying” the election, and many believe the strategy could be illegal.
Federal law makes it a crime punishable by up to five years in prison to “pay or offer to pay or accept payment either for registration to vote or for voting.”
Rick Hansen, Professor of Political Science at UCLA School of Law, argued on his blog that the scheme was “clearly illegal.”
Hansen also cites the DOJ Election Crimes Manual, which notes that “vote-buying” is a bribery offense under the US Constitution. The manual specifically includes “lottery chances,” as one of many possible methods of bribery.
Moreover, the bribe “must have been intended to induce or reward the voter for engaging in one or more acts necessary to cast a ballot,” italics ours, which again includes voter registration and not just the act of voting itself.
Seems Legit
Paradoxically, all of this would make Musk’s pro-US Constitution petition unconstitutional.
But Brad Smith, a former chair of the Federal Election Commission, told The New York Times that the plan “comes out OK here,” because Musk isn’t technically paying people to register to vote, just to sign the petition.
Legal or not, it appears to be working. Musk took to the X platform he owns Monday to proclaim that “New Republican voter registration last week in Pennsylvania absolutely crushed Democrat voter registration! 27.7k Rep vs 12.7k Dem, a 3X difference. Midnight today is the deadline for registration. Let’s GOOOO!!!!”