Lottery with Big Stakes
While shopping at Kohl’s a few years ago, I bought a lightweight winter quilted jacket I found on the clearance rack. With my 30% off coupon, the price came to less than $5. It was perfect…other than the fact that it was a University of Minnesota coat.
Apparently, my loyalties can be bought. The Democratic Party is alleging that Elon Musk is hoping that I am not alone.
Starting on Saturday, October 18, the tech billionaire announced that he would be giving away $1 million each day to registered voters in battleground states until the presidential election on November 5. “We want to try to get over a million, maybe 2 million voters in the battleground states to sign the petition in support of the First and Second Amendment,” Musk said at a campaign event for former President Trump in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. “We are going to be awarding $1 million randomly to people who have signed the petition, every day, from now until the election.”
The petition Musk was referring to was launched by America PAC, his political action committee to support the rights to free speech and to bear arms. The PAC’s website says, “this program is exclusively open to registered voters in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin and North Carolina.”
Musk, the CEO of Tesla and owner of X (formerly Twitter) is the wealthiest person in the world, with an estimated fortune of $242 billion. He has donated more than $75 million to reelect Trump and has previously offered to pay $47 for each registered voter in the seven swing states that supporters could get to sign his petition, as the winner of this year’s election will be the nation’s 47th president.
“This is a one-time ask,” Musk told the crowd shortly after announcing the $1 million prize. “Just go out there and talk to your friends and family and acquaintances and people you meet in the street and … convince them to vote. Obviously, you gotta get registered, make sure they’re registered and … make sure they vote.”
Musk then handed a gigantic check for $1 million to the first winner, John Dreher, saying, “So anyway, you’re welcome.” He announced Kristine Fishell as the second winner the next day during an event in Pittsburgh, handing her another check on a stage adorned with big signs reading, “VOTE EARLY.”
Several election officials, and numerous Democrats, have questioned the legality of the sweepstakes. Typically, coordination between campaigns and political action committees is forbidden. However, a recent opinion by the Federal Election Commissioner, which regulates federal campaigns, permitted candidates and PACs to work together in certain cases, including efforts encouraging people to vote.
In addition, federal law makes it a crime for anyone who “pays or offers to pay or accepts payment either for registration to vote or for voting.” Violators of the law face up to five years in prison. Detractors of the lottery claim that because winners can only be registered voters in swing states, it is an attempt by Musk to influence the election, and, therefore, is illegal.
In response, the PAC changed the rules of the promotion to reframe it as a job opportunity, saying winners “will be selected to earn $1M as a spokesperson for America PAC.” The first two winners have since appeared in promotional videos on the super PAC’s account on X. However, the opportunity is still only being offered to registered voters.
For $1 million, I would even consider getting a Golden Gophers tattoo. And remember to vote on Tuesday!
Reg P. Wydeven
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