Elon Musk gets warning election stunt could cost him 5 years in prison: report
The Justice Department has reportedly sent billionaire Elon Musk a warning letter after he began a lottery for voters in swing states, reports CNN's Marshall Cohen.
Musk, who is campaigning with Donald Trump, asked voters to sign a petition — and be eligible for a $1 million-a-day giveaway. But one of the requirements is that participants must prove they have registered to vote in one of the seven swing states.
According to the CNN source, the DOJ warning says the move "might violate federal laws" which make it illegal to incentivize voter "registration with cash/prizes," Cohen wrote on X.
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Election law expert Rick Hasen wrote Sunday after Musk made his offer at a Trump rally, "Though maybe some of the other things Musk was doing were of murky legality, this one is clearly illegal."
He cited a law that states, “Whoever knowingly or willfully ... pays or offers to pay or accepts payment either for registration to vote or for voting shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.”
He specifically drew attention to the phrase "or pays or offers to pay or accepts payment either for registration to vote."
"There's no problem with having a lottery," he told "Morning Joe" on Monday.
"The problem is to sign the petition, you have to be, if you go to their website of his PAC, you have to be a registered voter in a swing state. So, this is essentially a lottery to induce people to register to vote."