Is Musk’s $1-a-day cash gift to American voters legal?

Questions have been raised about the legality of cash grants offered by tech billionaire Elon Musk to state voters who signed his petition ahead of the November 5 US election.

The petition was launched by Mr Musk’s campaign group America PAC, which was set up to support Donald Trump in the presidential race.

Voters in Pennsylvania are offered a lump sum of money simply by signing a petition. And one person who signed a changing country per day is given a million dollar prize.

But legal experts have suggested it may violate US law to offer money for an act that requires someone to register to vote. BBC News has contacted Mr Musk’s team and the America PAC for comment.

A petition created by America PAC encourages voters in six states – Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin and North Carolina – to sign a “petition in favor of free speech and the right to bear arms”.

Those who refer another voter to sign are promised a total of $47 (£36) each.

The maximum $100 to sign or refer is being offered in Pennsylvania, a battleground state that the Trump and Harris campaigns believe could decide who ultimately wins the race.

The Church of America PAC says that those who signed this petition are showing support for the amendment of the First and Second of the Constitution of America.

Each day until the voting day on November 5, a prize of $1m will be randomly awarded to any person who signs up in one of the seven swing states.

The first jumbo lottery-style check was handed out to a surprised attendee at a town hall event in Pennsylvania on October 19.

“I believe [Elon] Musk’s offer may be illegal,” said Paul Schiff Berman, the Walter S. Cox professor of law at George Washington University.

He pointed to the US Code of Election Law, which states that anyone who “pays or promises to pay or accepts payment to register to vote or to vote” faces a fine of up to $10,000 or up to five years in prison.

“His application is only open to registered voters, so I think his application is against the rules,” Mr Berman told the BBC.

The US Department of Justice declined to comment. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) has been contacted for comment.

The strategy could be covered by a loophole, because no one is directly paid to register or vote, the former FEC chairman suggested.

Brad Smith told the New York Times that the offer was “a gray thing” but “not that close to the line.”

“He does not pay them to register to vote. You pay them to sign the petition – and you only want people who are registered to vote to sign the petition. So I think he’s doing well here,” he said.

But an election law professor at Northwestern University told the BBC that context matters.

“I understand some analysis that it is illegal, but I think that here combined with the context, it is clearly designed to persuade people to register to vote in a legally problematic way,” said Michael Kang.

Adav Noti of the non-partisan Legal Campaign Center said that Mr.

“It is illegal to issue money under the condition that those who will receive it are registered as voters,” Mr Noti told the BBC.

Constitutional law professor Jeremy Paul, with the Northeastern University School of Law, said in an email to the BBC that Mr Musk was taking advantage of the illegality.

He said that although there is an argument that the request may be illegal, it is “intended and designed to circumvent what should be the law” and believes that the case will be difficult to make in court.

Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, described the move as “deeply concerning” and called on law enforcement to investigate.

In response, Mr Musk said “it’s about him saying something like that”.

Billionaire investor Mark Cuban, who has campaigned for Kamala Harris in recent weeks, said the request was “intelligent and ambitious”.

“You’re only doing it because you think you have to, but using a sweepstake isn’t a bad idea. Whether or not it’s going to work is a whole other thing. It could easily backfire,” he told CNBC.

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said that while Mr Musk “may” have broken the law, she found it “appalling that someone would try to rig an election in this way”.

Mr Musk dismissed the criticism, saying “You can come from any party or no party and you don’t have to vote” to sign the petition.

Mr. Musk pointed out that Democrats and their donors have funded similar programs in the past.

On X, he shared a post in which the CEO of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg “did the same thing in 2020”.

Mr Zuckerberg donated $400m to the 2020 election – but this was given to two non-partisan organizations to help with postal votes. It is not given directly to voters.

The Democratic Party has invested in initiatives in past elections to mobilize supporters, such as a $25m voter registration campaign for the 2022 US midterm elections.

However, this money was also not given directly to the voters. The funding goes to programs that encourage voter registration, such as hiring people to knock on doors and television and digital advertising.

“It is legal to pay people to go out and register, but you cannot pay people directly to register,” said Prof Kang.

The world’s richest man had an uneasy relationship with Trump during Trump’s presidency, but Mr Musk has increasingly voiced his displeasure with Democrats in recent years.

Ahead of the 2022 midterm elections, he announced that he was leaving the party and encouraged his followers to vote Republican.

This year, he has been involved in American politics like never before, making donations and supporting social media posts on behalf of several Republicans.

Commenting last week, he described much of the US-Mexico border as something out of the movie World War Z.

Mr Musk launched America PAC in July with the aim of supporting Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. So far he has donated at least $75m to the group.

America PAC’s website says it wants “secure borders”, “safe cities”, “free speech”, “reasonable spending”, “a fair justice system” and “defense”.

Trump said on Sunday he did not pursue Mr Musk’s gift, but described him as a friend.

In recent weeks, Mr Musk has made his first appearances on the campaign trail, first at Trump’s side and more recently at a town hall on his own.