An election law expert is warning that Elon Musk's latest cash-infused bid to increase voter registration is "clearly illegal."
Musk announced at a Pennsylvania town hall that every swing state voter that signed his petition protecting "free speech and the right to bear arms" would be entered in a lottery to potentially win $1 million, as reported by NBC News.
At the Saturday town hall, the first winner of the lottery was selected and handed a giant check on stage. "The only thing we ask for the million dollars is that you be a spokesperson for the petition, and that's it, really," Musk told the man, according to NBC News.
However, Rick Hasen, a legal scholar and professor of political science at UCLA, cited Title 52 of the U.S. Code in a post to the Election Law Blog which stated, "Whoever ... pays or offers to pay or accepts payment either for registration to vote or for voting shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both..."
"Though maybe some of the other things Musk was doing were of murky legality, this one is clearly illegal," Hasen wrote in the blog post.
Hasen also cited the Department of Justice Election Crimes Manual as to why Musk's announcement might be illegal. In the manual, "lottery chances" are included in the definition of bribes if they are "intended to induce or reward the voter for engaging in one or more acts necessary to cast a ballot."
"I've also learned that to get the $100 bounty one also must be a petition signer. And who can sign the petitions? Only registered voters in swing states, which is what makes it illegal," Hasen wrote in the post.
The Tesla CEO and owner of X (formerly Twitter) created the petition in early October to reportedly protect First and Second Amendment rights. Musk initially offered those who got voters in swing states to register and sign his petition $47, and up to $100 for some.
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