- Elon Musk’s America PAC offers $1 million daily prizes and $47 referral fees to voters in swing states.
- Democrats accuse the program of violating 18 U.S. Code § 597, which prohibits paying for voting registration.
- The Department of Justice warned Musk about the potential illegality, but Musk defends the initiative by citing past examples.
Recently, multi-billionaire Elon Musk announced an unusual tactic in the upcoming presidential election. Via his campaign group “America PAC”, Musk promised to randomly select voters to earn the sum of $1 million per day until the election date.
The petition is smartly branded as a call to action that encourages voters from the swing states Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, and North Carolina to sign in favor of core U.S. values: free speech and the right to bear arms.
America PAC also offers an “affiliate program” of sorts, with voters who refer the program to new voters receiving $47 each. Pennsylvania voters may receive higher sums as the State is seen as one of the most important swing states in the country.
Despite Elon Musk’s clear endorsement of Donald Trump – America PAC does not directly support any candidate. The program is rather a grassroots initiative aimed at rallying support for fundamental American values.
Democrats Accuse Musk of Breaking Electoral Laws
The combination of millionaire prizes and paid referral programs has been accused of breaking American electoral laws by Democrats.
While the fact that America PAC does not support any candidate can be considered a loophole, many claim that the program violates 18 U.S. Code § 597, which states that anyone offering payment for voting registration or voting can face a fine of $10,000 and up to 5 years in jail.
In fact, the Department of Justice just issued a letter to Musk warning that the offers of prizes and giveaways could be seen as illegal.
The multi-billionaire defends his America PAC initiative by claiming that this sort of thing has been done in the past. Particularly, Musk claims that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg also held a similar initiative in 2020 when he funded non-partisan groups that helped with the logistics of voting ballots.
