US election: Legal experts question Elon Musk’s planned cash giveaways
Al Jazeera
Plan to give $1m per day until November 5 election could violate law against using cash to induce voting, experts say.
Tech billionaire Elon Musk’s promise to give away $1m per day until the United States election has drawn legal scrutiny, with experts warning the scheme could violate a prohibition on using cash to incentivise voting.
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said on Sunday that the plan to give money to registered voters in US swing states who also have signed an online petition was “deeply concerning” and that law enforcement could “take a look” at the effort.
Musk gave a $1m cheque to an attendee of his America PAC event on Saturday in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, which aimed at rallying people behind Republican candidate and former US President Donald Trump.
“Musk obviously has a right to be able to express his views. He’s made it very, very clear that he supports Donald Trump. I don’t. Obviously we have a difference of opinion,” Shapiro said in an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press programme.
“I don’t deny him that, right, but when you start flowing this kind of money into politics, I think it raises serious questions,” he added.
