Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro wants law enforcement to investigate Elon Musk’s newest ploy to help Donald Trump win the 2024 election by randomly giving $1m every day until the election to a swing state voter who signs his petition "supporting free speech." Signing the petition is also now a prerequisite for attending Musk’s town hall events.
The petition asks people to "pledge their support for the First and Second Amendments," but the small print says that to be eligible for any of the monetary awards, signers need to be registered voters in the key battleground states.
Gov. Shapiro is echoing the concerns of legal experts who say Musk appears to violate laws that prohibit giving incentives to people to register to vote. On Sunday, Gov. Shapiro once again expressed those concerns as Monday is Pennsylvania’s deadline to register to vote.
“I think there are real questions with how he is spending money in this race, how the dark money is flowing, not just into Pennsylvania, but apparently now into the pockets of Pennsylvanians,” Shapiro told Kristen Welker on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday. “That is deeply concerning.”
“I think it’s something that law enforcement should take a look at," Gov. Shapiro continued. "I’m not the Attorney General anymore of Pennsylvania, I’m the Governor, but it does raise serious questions.”
One former justice department official told CNN that because the prize is only available to registered voters “in one of seven swing states that could affect the outcome of the presidential election”, it’s evidence of Musk’s intent to sway the race, said David Becker, founder of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation & Research.