On October 23, businessman Elon Musk, who is supporting former President Donald Trump in the US presidential election, was elected from registered voters in battleground states who signed to petition in support of “speech and gun rights” on election day giving one person $1 million a day until then, but experts are divided on whether or not this bounty is illegal . In this photo, Musk speaks at the American PAC rally in Folsom, Pennsylvania on the 17th (2024 Reuters/Rachel Wisniewski)
(Reuters) – Businessman Elon Musk, who is supporting former President Donald Trump in the US presidential election, was among registered voters in battleground states who signed up to a petition in support of “speech and gun rights” on Election Day is giving one person $1 million a day until then, but experts are divided on whether or not this bounty is unfair legal.
Daniel Weiner from the left-wing Brennan Center for Justice said there were certainly voices expressing the illegality of the move.
Brad Smith, a professor at Capital University Law School and former chairman of the Federal Election Commission (FEC), said that signing a petition and registering to vote are two different things, and perhaps there is nothing illegal about it. “It’s not just the fact that you could be compensated as a paymentfor a certain activity,” he said.
Meanwhile, Pennsylvania Governor Shapiro (Democrat) said he was “deeply concerned” about Musk’s actions and called for a “law enforcement investigation.”
Richard Hasen, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), said that although the petition is not a direct incentive to register to vote, given the timing and the fact that it is only aimed at voters in battleground states , signing a petition is only an excuse. He said it was illegal to give awards.
According to the professor, the US Department of Justice’s Electoral Crimes Manual clearly states that there are cases where the opportunity to receive prize money as an illegal payment is.
Adab Noti of the non-partisan Campaign Legal Center also argues that offering money in exchange for voter registration is illegal.
The Brennan Center’s Weiner said there are still legal questions, but he said it’s a gray area. He admitted that the question ultimately comes down to whether signing the petition is just an excuse to encourage people to register to vote.
In this regard, Smith University Capital said that Musk has other plausible reasons for asking people to sign the petition, citing the construction of a list of voters to support his cause as a specific example.
Mr. Musk, who is number one on the list of the richest people in the world by the business magazine Forbes, has donated at least $ 75 million to America’s PAC, a super PAC (special political action committee) which he founded to support Mr. Trump.
The PAC aims to mobilize voters in battleground states and is playing a key role in Trump’s re-election campaign.
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2024-10-23 11:37:00
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