Elon Musk Announces Daily $1M Giveaway to Swing State Voters Until US Election: Legality and Impact Examined

Tech billionaire Elon Musk has said he will give away $1m (£766,000) a day to a registered voter in key swing states until the US presidential election on 5 November.

The winner will be chosen at random from those who sign a pro-US Constitution petition by Mr Musk’s campaign group America PAC, which he set up to support Republican nominee Donald Trump’s bid to return to the White House.

The first lottery-style cheque was given away to a surprised attendee at a town hall event in Pennsylvania on Saturday night. Another cheque was handed out on Sunday.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat who supports Kamala Harris, called Mr Musk’s strategy “deeply concerning.”

Shapiro told NBC News’ Meet the Press that law enforcement should potentially look at the payments.

The contest is open to voters in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin and North Carolina, all key battleground states that will ultimately decide the White House election.

Election law expert Rick Hasen wrote on his personal Election Law Blog that he believed Mr Musk’s offer was “clearly illegal”.

Federal law states that anyone who “pays or offers to pay or accepts payment either for registration to vote or for voting” faces a potential $10,000 fine or a five-year prison sentence.

Though Mr Musk is technically asking voters to sign a form, Mr Hasen questioned the intent behind the strategy.

“Who can sign the petitions? Only registered voters in swing states, which is what makes it illegal,” said Mr Hasen, a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) law school.

Those who sign the petition – which pledges to support free speech and gun rights – must submit their contact details, potentially allowing America PAC to contact them about their vote.

Both Mr Musk and America PAC have been approached for comment.

Campaigns and political action committees rely on tactics like petition signing, survey requests, or merchandise purchases to build massive databases of voter information. That data can then be used more accurately to target voters, or raise funds from supporters who are already onboard.

In Pennsylvania, Mr Musk is giving voters $100 for signing the petition, plus another $100 for each person they refer who signs. Voters in other battleground states get $47 per referral.

But the strategy may be covered by a loophole under US election law because no-one is being directly paid to vote – despite introducing money into a process that could identify likely Trump voters.