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Musk Promises to Give $1 Million Daily to Voters
Experts Criticize Suspected Vote Buying
According to a report by Reuters, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, promised to donate $1 million daily to people supporting the First and Second Amendment petitions during a Trump campaign event he attended over the weekend, until Election Day.
During the campaign event, Musk stated, “We want to get over a million, maybe two million, swing-state voters to sign up for the First and Second Amendment petitions… From now until the election, we will be randomly giving $1 million to those who sign the petitions.”
The First and Second Amendments protect the rights to free speech and bear arms, respectively. According to information on the website of the United States Political Action Committee, to receive $1 million, the petition signers must be registered voters residing in one of the seven swing states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
The petition also provides $100 to each registered voter in Pennsylvania who signs it and an additional $100 to anyone who recommends a registered Pennsylvania voter to sign.
Musk donated a $1 million check to a participant named John Dreher during an event held in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on Saturday. The event was organized by the America PAC, a committee established by Musk to support Republican candidate Donald Trump in the presidential election.
Reportedly, Musk handed the check to John Dreher and said, “By the way, John had no idea about this beforehand. You’re welcome anyway.”
Additionally, Musk donated a second $1 million check to another woman during an event in Pittsburgh on Sunday, according to a tweet by the United States Political Action Committee on the X platform.
However, the legality of Musk’s donations to voters is under widespread scrutiny. Pennsylvania’s Democratic Governor, Josh Shapiro, expressed concern about Musk’s donations to Pennsylvania voters during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday and called for law enforcement agencies to investigate.
Derek Muller, an election law expert at the University of Notre Dame Law School, pointed out that Musk’s restriction of the bonus to registered voters appears to be an exchange of cash for voter registration, which could potentially raise allegations of vote buying. However, Muller stated that most states only consider it bribery when money is exchanged for votes, so federal prosecutors rarely bring election bribery cases, and the Supreme Court has been narrowing the scope of bribery laws.
On the other hand, David Becker, a former Justice Department official responsible for election rights cases and founder of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation & Research, stated that this incentive is only open to “registered voters in the seven swing states that could affect the outcome of the presidential election,” which strongly suggests Musk’s intention to influence the election and may raise legal concerns.
Furthermore, the proposal was made in the final days before certain voter registration deadlines, further emphasizing Musk’s potential aim to stimulate voter registration. In addition, the America PAC can obtain more contact information of potential voters through this activity and utilize this information to mobilize voters to support Trump.
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