Philadelphia’s Democratic district attorney has filed a lawsuit in an effort to block X owner Elon Musk’s $1 million daily giveaway to influence state voters.
Larry Krasner sued to stop the action, which would impact the battlegrounds. He called it an “illegal lottery program” that violates consumer protection laws.
The Tesla CEO is giving away a large amount of money every day until November 5 to voters in Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
To qualify, voters must support promises that more closely align with the Republican Party’s election campaign, including the First and Second Amendments – which deal with freedom of speech and the right to bear arms.
Voting law experts have raised concerns about the legality of Musk’s giveaway, but Krasner’s lawsuit is the first legal action challenging the controversial lottery.
Philadelphia’s Democratic district attorney has launched a lawsuit in an effort to block X owner Elon Musk’s $1 million swing state giveaway
Kristine Fishell is one of the winners of Elon Musk’s $1 million daily giveaway. An election law expert has now joined a cacophony of voices describing the measure as unethical or even potentially illegal
The CEO of Tesla and the richest man in the world recently announced that he would give away a large amount of money every day until the presidential election on November 5 to a random registered voter from seven swing states who have signed his America PAC petition in support of the first and second election campaigns. change
“America PAC and Musk must be stopped immediately before the upcoming presidential election on November 5,” Krasner’s lawsuit reads.
“That’s because America PAC and Musk created their illegal lottery scheme to influence voters in that election.”
“The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office is charged with protecting the public from public nuisance and unfair business practices, including illegal lotteries,” Krasner added in a statement.
“The DA is also charged with protecting the public from interference with the integrity of elections.”
Musk’s supporters say he has no influence on the outcome of the election and that Democrats are desperate to stop him as Kamala Harris’ campaign loses steam.
It comes a week after the US Department of Justice also warned Musk that the giveaway violates federal laws banning voter incentives.
Musk’s America PAC has pledged nearly $75 million to get Trump re-elected.
Derek Muller, a lecturer at Notre Dame Law School, explained why Musk’s giveaways could be illegal.
“If you start limiting prizes or giveaways to only registered voters or only people who have voted, then there are concerns about bribery,” he told CNN.
Mr. Muller warned that by limiting the giveaway to only registered voters, Musk would appear to be handing out money for voter registration.
The CNN contributor added that offering free money to already registered voters before the sweepstakes was announced would violate federal law.
However, he described that the offer to people who had not yet registered was “much more problematic” because it could be seen as a potential persuasion to register.
Muller said most states only criminalize paying people to vote and it is rare for prosecutors to prosecute election bribery cases, especially as the Supreme Court continued to limit its scope of the bribery statutes.
David Becker, a former Justice Department official who handles voting rights cases, has further criticized Musk’s giveaway, claiming it is “strong evidence” that the billionaire is trying to influence the race by offering the stimulus only in seven swing states .
He said: ‘This is not a particularly close case, this is exactly what the law wanted to criminalise.’
