Will Elon Musk's million-dollar election scheme pay off?
- by THE WEEK
- Oct 24, 2024
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"It seems like a good use of money basically"
(Image credit: Illustration by Stephen Kelly / Getty Images) What did the commentators say?
While Musk has obviously succeeded at pulling eyeballs to his sweepstakes, the fact that the first two recipients of his largesse were "Republican voters who had participated in recent non-presidential elections and already cast their ballots by mail this year" raises the question of whether the scheme is "activating a new segment of voters — incentivizing people to register or cast ballots — or just tapping into an existing pool of Musk and Trump fans," Politico said. Musk's skill as a "pitchman able to draw attention" is without question, but "what he offers in oversized cardboard checks for $1 million doesn't have much value," said Chris Brennan at USA Today.
Crucially, because Musk's sweepstakes are technically nonpartisan, Democrats can also "sign this petition and get a shot at the $1m and then vote for Kamala Harris," Sun Microsystems co-founder and fellow tech billionaire Vinod Khosla said on X. Democrat entrants would not only "gum up Musk's operation" by "muddying his database with an unknown number of Democrats," said Fortune, but they could ultimately "drain resources that could have otherwise gone to mobilizing voters for Donald Trump by wasting it on the opposing side."
I’d encourage all democrats to sign this petition and get a shot at the $1m and then vote for @KamalaHarris. @elonmusk offers $1 million a day to entice swing state voters to sign petition https://t.co/1xtEoxkMlTOctober 20, 2024
Risk of Democratic gamification aside, Musk's giveaway faces a more immediate, acute threat as well: the question of legality. The sweepstakes operates in a "legal gray zone that appears to be open to interpretation," said Fox News. While paying someone to vote or register to vote is illegal, offering benefits to help people vote is "legal and common," The New York Times said, citing rides to polling places, or workplaces affording employees paid time off to vote as examples of allowed behavior. Because Musk is "not directly paying for voter registration — but rather for a petition signature that happens to be open only to registered voters," the billionaire's supporters argue that the giveaway is ultimately within the bounds of federal election law. Legal technicalities notwithstanding, the sweepstakes has already earned the suspicion of Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D). Musk's giveaway is "something that law enforcement could take a look at," Shapiro said last week on NBC's "Meet the Press."
Gov. Shapiro says law enforcement could look at Elon Musk’s $1M giveaway to super PAC supporters - YouTube
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