Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s plan to give out $1 million prize to registered voters in swing states as he stumps for former President Donald Trump has raised concerns and could be illegal, some election law experts suggest.
Every day until the Nov. 5 election, Musk, the world’s richest man, plans on giving a million-dollar prize to people who sign a petition in support of the First and Second Amendments of the Constitution, which guarantee freedom of speech and the right to bear arms, among other rights. In order to win the money, petitioners have to be a registered voter from one of the following battleground states: Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, and North Carolina.
Experts say that the prize could be a violation of federal law, which says that anyone who pays or accepts payments to register to vote could be fined up to $10,000 and/or receive up to five years of imprisonment.
“It is illegal to give out money on the condition that recipients register as voters,” Adav Noti, executive director of the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center, said in a statement to TIME. “As the terms of this ‘contest’ to win $1 million require the recipient to be a registered voter in one of seven swing states (or to register if they have not already), the offer violates federal law and is subject to civil or criminal enforcement by the Department of Justice.”
In response to online arguments that Musk is paying to register Republicans, the tech mogul tweeted on Sunday that the winner of the prize is selected by a petitioner that supports constitutional rights. “You can be from any or no political party and you don’t even have to vote,” Musk wrote. In other words, Musk’s defense of the prize relies on the fact that it isn’t directly handed out for voter registration, but rather for signing the petition.
John Hardin Young, an adjunct professor of election law at William and Mary School of Law, argues that Musk is “vote buying” in a…
