Elon Musk warned his $1m voter giveaways could be illegal

Department of Justice reportedly concerned about sweepstake that rewards people who sign petition

The Department of Justice has warned that Elon Musk’s $1 million giveaway to voters in swing states may be illegal, according to reports.
Mr Musk’s Trump-aligned fundraising group America PAC was told by federal officials that running a sweepstake could violate a law which makes it illegal to pay voters to register to vote.
The DOJ has contacted America PAC in recent days to warn against the competition, which enters voters into a lucky draw for a $1 million cheque if they sign a petition, CNN reported.
Although it is not illegal to run a competition for those who sign a petition, the scheme raised eyebrows because it is restricted to registered voters in swing states. It is against federal law to pay a member of the public to register to vote.
Mr Musk’s PAC said the purpose of the competition was to “get 1 million registered voters in swing states to sign in support of the Constitution, especially freedom of speech and the right to bear arms”.
But critics argue it is a clandestine way of registering Republicans to vote and boost Donald Trump’s performance at next month’s election.
On Monday, 11 former GOP officials complained to Merrick Garland, the attorney general, about the competition.
The former officials said they were “aware of nothing like this in modern political history” and called on the DOJ to investigate.
“We recognise that they are framed as payments for signing a petition, or for referring voters who sign,” the letter said. “But many of the payments are restricted to registered voters, so anyone who wishes to get paid must first register.”
In a response to claims that the petition was “paying to register Republicans”, Mr Musk said that those who sign it “can be from any or no political party and you don’t even have to vote”.
According to the terms and conditions attached to the giveaway, those who enter it “must be registered voters of Arizona, Michigan, Georgia, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, or Wisconsin” – the seven swing states Trump is hoping to win at this election.
The competition’s first two winners were John Dreher and Kristine Fishell, from Pennsylvania. Both are registered Republicans who signed up to vote years ago, have voted for the Republicans in several elections in recent years and have returned mail ballots for November’s election.
Andy Steinle, a voter from Holly Springs, North Carolina, became the latest signatory to win $1 million on Tuesday.