Monday, 09 Dec 2024

Here's how Elon Musk's $1M a day giveaway to battleground voters works

Fox News examines the legality behind tech billionaire Elon Musk's $1 million a day giveaway to registered voters in battleground state who sign his America PAC petition.


Here's how Elon Musk's $1M a day giveaway to battleground voters works
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The night prior, Musk granted a $1 million sum to a Pennsylvania man named John Dreher during an event in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. 

"The only thing we ask for the million dollars is that you be a spokesperson for the petition, and that's it, really," Musk said at the rally, as Dreher explained he "had no idea" he was selected. 

Fox News examined the legality surrounding the initiative and found that it is a legal gray zone that appears to be open to interpretation, also finding similar Democratic initiatives in the Keystone State and nationally.

Under federal law, it is a crime to pay someone to register to vote. However, Musk's giveaway is not enticing voters to register but instead sign a petition. 

Musk's rules surrounding the $1 million award include that voters sign his PAC's petition, which backs the First and Second Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. The initiative outlines that it only applies to registered voters in the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Wisconsin and North Carolina, implying that non-registered voters do not qualify for the program. 

"The First and Second Amendments guarantee freedom of speech and the right to bear arms. By signing below, I am pledging my support for the First and Second Amendments," the petition reads. 

The America PAC website details that a petition signer in the Pittsburgh area will be awarded the sum for Oct. 20, and another signer from Pennsylvania at-large will be awarded the sum for Oct. 21. 

The petition does not require a resident to register to vote to sign the petition, only prompting users to answer whether they are registered voters. 

"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. That is deeply concerning," Shapiro said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

He continued, "Look, Musk, obviously has a right to be able to express his views, and he's made it very, very clear that he supports Donald Trump, and we have a difference of opinion. I don't deny him that right, but when you start flowing this kind of money into politics, I think it raises serious questions that folks may want to take a look at."

"You think it might not be legal, yes or no?" host Kristen Welker asked.

Musk brushed off the concern on X, "Concerning that he would say such a thing." 

Earlier this month, Musk's PAC announced that individuals seeking to increase voter registration and turnout are offered starting wages of $30 an hour - far above the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour - with the PAC also offering battleground state voters $47 for each registered voter they refer to sign the PAC's petition. In Pennsylvania, Musk's PAC is offering residents $100 to sign the petition and $100 for every referral. 

He has made the First Amendment, Second Amendment, cutting government red tape and ending overregulation on businesses hallmarks of his campaign speeches. Trump has meanwhile lauded Musk for his support and said that the tech billionaire behind SpaceX and X is willing to take on the role of "Secretary of Cost-Cutting" for the federal government if Trump is re-elected to the White House. 

Musk's campaign tour has apparently worried Democrats amid Trump's effort to claim the Keystone State.

"Not even just that he has endorsed [Trump], but the fact that now he's becoming an active participant and showing up and doing rallies and things like that," Fetterman told the New York Post this month. 

"I mean, [Musk] is incredibly successful, and, you know, I think some people would see him as, like, a Tony Stark," said Fetterman. "Democrats, you know, kind of make light of it, or they make fun of him jumping up and down and things like that. And I would just say that they are doing that at our peril."

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