DOJ Warns Musk Over $1M Voter Giveaway: Report

While the Biden-Harris DOJ has been silent over allegations that Democrat fundraising platform ActBlue is using illegal straw donors, they sure seem to have a problem with Elon Musk’s super PAC – and has issued a warning in an alleged letter that its $1 million daily giveaway in battleground states may violate federal law, NBC News reports (based on an anonymous source, so who knows).

According to the report, the letter follows mounting pressure to stop the program.

The letter, which was earlier reported by CNN, follows mounting pressure on state and federal authorities to investigate Musk’s lottery as a potential violation of election laws, including a ban on paying people to register to vote. On Monday, a group of ex-prosecutors and other former government officials sent a letter to the Justice Department requesting an investigation. 

News of the letter come on the same day that left-wing public advocacy group Public Citizen filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission alleging that the contest violates campaign finance law because “the purpose of the $1 million reward for signing the petition appears to be to motivate voter registration and voting at the polls by those sympathetic with the candidacy of Donald Trump in the key swing states for the 2024 presidential election.”

According to the complaint, because the contest is only available to registered voters, it may constitute an illegal financial incentive to get people to register to vote.

On the other hand, Musk’s PAC, the America PAC, is asking people to sign a petition for the chance to win $1 million – not explicitly rewarding them for registering to vote.

SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk awarded Kristine Fishell with a $1 million check during the town hall at the Roxain Theater on October 20, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Michael Swensen/Getty Images

On Sunday, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) told Meet the Press that the contest was “concerning,” and “something that law enforcement could take a look at.”

Gov. Josh Shapiro calls Musk’s million-dollar giveaways ‘deeply concerning’ pic.twitter.com/4l5A9wTJO3

— New York Post (@nypost) October 20, 2024

While we don’t know the contents of the alleged DOJ letter – or if it exists, it’s likely to be a cease-and-desist letter, similar to what Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream received in 2008 when they offered everyone with an “I Voted” sticker a free ice cream cone on election day.

According to NBC News legal experts, the giveaway falls into a legal gray area that may or may not violate election law.

“I can see what people are saying when they argue this violates the law, but I don’t think it does,” said election law expert Matthew Sanderson.

Musk announced the giveaway last Saturday at a town hall event in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.