US election: US court does not stop Musk’s cash gifts to voters

A prosecutor has failed to stop the controversial giving of money to voters by tech billionaire and Trump supporter Elon Musk. A judge in Philadelphia rejected the request for a preliminary injunction, as the financial service Bloomberg reported, among others. The decision has more of a symbolic meaning, because the daily award of one million dollars to one person ends anyway on election day on Tuesday.

Musk had announced that he would give one million dollars a day to a registered voter in particularly hotly contested US states until the election. He handed over the first million-dollar checks in Pennsylvania. The state could be particularly important because it has 19 electors. To win the presidential election you need 270 electoral votes.

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner accused Musk and his organization “America PAC” of running “an illegal lottery.” Musk’s sweepstakes violated a Pennsylvania law that requires all lotteries in the state to be regulated by the state, he argued, among other things. Musk’s side countered that there was no random award. The people who would receive the money would be paid for their role as ambassadors.

The campaign is aimed at registered voters who sign a petition. It’s about “freedom of expression and the right to bear arms” – it was launched by Musk’s organization “America PAC”. This supports the election campaign of the Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

US election law prohibits paying citizens money to vote or register. According to Musk, the million-dollar gift is intended to bring more attention to the petition. However, critics see a problem in the fact that only registered voters can take part. This could be interpreted as meaning that giving money creates an incentive to register. The US Department of Justice issued a warning.