Philadelphia DA files lawsuit against Elon Musk and America PAC over million-dollar petition gifts

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner is suing Elon Musk and his super PAC to block them from giving million-dollar gifts to registered voters, election experts and Ministry of Justiceto have warned may violate federal law.

Krasner is seeking an injunction: The effort amounts to an illegal, unregulated lottery and ignores the question of whether it violates laws against vote-buying, he argued in a filing Monday.

“America PAC and Musk are convincing citizens of Philadelphia and others in the Commonwealth (and other swing states in the upcoming election) to give up their personal identifying information and make a political pledge in exchange for a chance to win $1 million. This is a lottery,” the lawsuit claims. “And it is undisputed that this was an unlawful lottery. According to express Pennsylvania law, all lotteries in Pennsylvania must be regulated by the State of Pennsylvania.”

This month, Musk’s America PAC began giving $1 million a day to a registered voter who signs a petition pledging support for the First and Second amendments, and $100 a day to Pennsylvania voters who sign the petition. Musk announced the gifts while openly and regularly campaigning on behalf of former President Donald Trump.

Paying someone to vote is illegal under federal law, but Musk insists he’s not paying people to register. Musk and America PAC said their monetary donations were to encourage petition signatures. Still, his contest is open only to those in key battleground states, and he’s backing Pennsylvania voters by offering a $100 prize each. Department of Justice sends warning letter to PAC last week But Musk, the world’s richest person and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, continued to defend the business.

“To be clear, this is not a petition for anyone to vote or register. “This is truly a petition in support of the Constitution of the United States and, in particular, freedom of speech and the right to bear arms,” he said. online town hall event On Friday on social media platform X.

An attorney representing America PAC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the case.