Residents in battleground states are submitting personal information to a pro-Trump PAC whose website invites them to "register to vote" — but instead of actually registering any voters, the PAC is just storing their precious voter data. Now Michigan's top elections official is opening an investigation in the so-called "America PAC," which was founded and partially funded by billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk, for potential violations of state election law.
“Every citizen should know exactly how their personal information is being used by PACs, especially if an entity is claiming it will help people register to vote in Michigan or any other state,” a spokeswoman for Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, said in a statement to CNBC.
When visitors to the PAC's website access the page from safe Democratic or Republican states, they are typically directed to an actual voter registration page. However, those who enter zip codes in a battleground state like Pennsylvania or Georgia are given a highly detailed form in which they are prompted to submit their address, cellphone number and age. Even after the user submits that information, the website does not help them register to vote, despite promising to do so, instead steering them towards a "thank you" page.
As of Aug. 4, following criticism of the deceptive tactic, the form disappeared from the website.
According to CNBC, which was the first to report on America PAC, the committee has spent over $21 million since June on canvassing, digital media, text message services and phone calls, per Federal Election Commission filings. Around $800,000 of that money went into digital marketing ads targeted at voters in battleground states, with many encouraging voters to visit their website and "register to vote."
"America PAC is focusing on door-to-door canvassing in support of Trump," Brendan Fischer, deputy executive director at campaign finance watchdog Documented, told CNBC. "I think it is safe to assume that the voter data gathered through these digital appeals are going to inform America PAC's canvassing and other political activities."
Fischer noted that FEC ruling permits billionaire-funded PACs and presidential campaigns to directly coordinate on door-to-door canvassing activities, which "ensures that the PAC's activities are maximally beneficial to the campaign, and frees up the campaign's own funds for other use."
Some legal experts said the Musk-backed PAC's deceptive tactics might be legal. “I am not aware of any laws being broken,” Barbara McQuade, a former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, said in an email to CNBC on Sunday.
Musk is not the only tech executive bankrolling the effort. America PAC, which raised more than $8 million between April 1 and June 30, has also received donations from venture capitalist Doug Leone, as well as cryptocurrency investors Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss; it has also, according to CNBC, received funds from a company run by Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale. The records do not yet list Musk as a donor, though he has said repeatedly that he is making donations to the committee.
Musk's support for the PAC comes after he's used his social media platform, X, to amplify pro-Trump voices and manipulate community guidelines to suppress anti-Trump speech. Last week, he violated his own platform's rules in sharing a doctored video of Vice President Kamala Harris, with X also temporarily suspending several pro-Harris accounts.
