The Justice Department has issued a warning to Elon Musk-founded political action committee (PAC), America PAC, over its cash giveaways to registered voters.
What Happened: The Justice Department expressed concerns that the PAC’s cash incentives to registered voters who sign a petition could potentially infringe federal law, reported The Wall Street Journal. The PAC, backed by Musk, has been offering registered voters in Pennsylvania and six other key states a chance to win $1 million by signing a petition supporting the rights to free speech and firearms.
The Justice Department’s letter suggested that the PAC’s payments could violate federal law against knowingly or willfully paying individuals to register to vote in election contests with federal candidates. The same law also criminalizes paying people to vote.
Despite the warning, the America PAC insists that its cash prizes are lawful. “The PAC is confident in the legality of this initiative and the predictable media meltdown is only helping America PAC's efforts to support President Trump,” an America PAC representative stated earlier this week.
Three registered voters in Pennsylvania and one in North Carolina have already won seven-figure prizes. The PAC plans to continue daily lotteries through Election Day, open to both newly registered voters and those already on the rolls.
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Why It Matters: The cash giveaway initiative by Musk’s PAC has been a subject of controversy since its inception. Election law experts had raised serious legal questions about the initiative. The report highlighted that only registered voters supporting the First and Second Amendments were eligible for the daily prize.
Earlier, billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban had questioned the legality of Musk’s daily $1 million PAC giveaway. The same day, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) criticized Musk and Donald Trump for their actions, which she perceived as belittling the working classes.
“When you have a billionaire, just dangling a million bucks to those of us and many of us who are struggling to make ends meet, if they dance for him…,” she said.
Image via Wikimedia Commons
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This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Shivdeep Dhaliwal
