Elon Musk's million dollar daily giveaway to voters in battleground states may be on the verge of being shut down in Pennsylvania.
Philadelphia's Democratic District Attorney Larry Krasner filed a lawsuit Monday seeking to halt what he described as an "illegal" lottery being run by Musk's America PAC, which he launched in May to aid the campaign of former President Donald Trump.
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"The Philadelphia District Attorney is charged with protecting the public from public nuisances and unfair trade practices, including illegal lotteries," Krasner said in a statement. "The DA is also charged with protecting the public from interference with the integrity of elections."
"Today, the Philadelphia DA filed a civil legal action under Pennsylvania law," Krasner continues. "This civil action neither precludes nor requires potential future action under Pennsylvania criminal law. The Philadelphia DA will litigate the factual allegations and legal arguments that underlie today’s filing on the record and in court.”
Musk's sweepstakes has offered a daily prize of $1 million to registered voters in swing states who sign his political action committee's petition supporting the First and Second Amendments of the U.S. Constitution.
But is the sweepstakes legal?
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Brendan Fischer, campaign finance expert and deputy executive director of the investigative watchdog group Documented, explained why he believes the lottery could be in violation of the law.
"The problem is not that Elon Musk is encouraging people to register, which is fine," Fischer said. "But that he is potentially paying people to register or conditioning payments; conditioning these payments on their registration and that appears to violate the law."
Several checks have already been gifted to winners, including Kristine Fishell, who praised Musk for the "wealth and responsibility" he is using to "save speech."
"What this may represent is the next frontier of money and politics," she added, "where billionaires are giving money directly to voters in exchange for their registering and potentially voting."
