Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban has sparked a widespread debate on social media with a post questioning the legality of Elon Musk’s latest political initiative.
The controversy surrounds Musk’s recently announced plan to offer $1 million a day in rewards to swing state voters who sign petitions supporting the First and Second Amendments to the US Constitution.
Musk, CEO of X and a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election against Vice President Kamala Harris, unveiled his unprecedented voter engagement strategy at a town hall event in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
According to Musk, the American PAC (Political Action Committee) will provide registered voters in key swing states with the opportunity to win $1 million per day until the November 5 election.
To enter, registered voters must sign a statement that reads, “The First and Second Amendments guarantee freedom of speech and the right to bear arms.”
Musk announced the first winner, John Dreher, at the Harrisburg event. The next two winners will be from Pennsylvania, after the contest is open to registered voters in Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, and North Carolina.
Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight aggregator, which estimates the average polling of presidential candidates by analyzing various surveys, has Trump and Harris tied in Pennsylvania at 47.8 percent as of Sunday afternoon.
The controversy first gained traction online when Cuba shared a post by journalist and scholar Emeritus Norman Ornstein on X that drew attention to Musk’s plan: “Department of justice Merrick Garland should step in immediately.”
Cuban reposted the message and tagged Pennsylvania’s Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro, who got 1.4 million views and 3,400 comments, saying: “I’m sure, while it may not be a violation of voting laws, it may be a violation of gaming laws in Pennsylvania,” he wrote in X.
To further his argument, the tech entrepreneur included an image from the website of the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue, which states: “In Pennsylvania, all types of gambling are illegal unless authorized by law.”
The list also includes other legal forms of gambling in the state, including the Pennsylvania Lottery, bingo, slots, table games, and small games of chance.
During an interview Sunday on NBC’s “Meet The Press,” Governor Shapiro expressed concern about Musk’s latest voter effort, saying, “I think law enforcement can see that.”
The controversial plan has also attracted the attention of legal experts in the field of election law. At Associated Press reports that election law experts raise concerns about the legality of Musk’s giveaway.
Campaign finance attorney Brendan Fischer suggested the contest could be approaching legal limits by requiring voter registration to claim prizes. Fischer stated in an email to AP“There is some doubt about the legality that every signatory of the Pennsylvania-based petition is eligible, but the conditions of payment in the registration may violate the law.”
UCLA School of Law Professor Rick Hasen pointed to laws that prohibit payments for registration or voting. “If all we do is pay people to sign the petition, it might be a waste of money. But nothing illegal,” he said in an interview.
“The problem is that the only people eligible to participate in this giveaway are people who are registered to vote. And that makes it illegal.”
Thanks to the person who referred to the law of the lottery. I will defer to the lawyer. But if they follow the applicable law, they must admit that it may be legal
That doesn’t account for the FEC law. https://t.co/dhf4CQKt3Q
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) October 20, 2024
In a follow-up post, Cuba later said he would defer to professional legal advice on the matter, “Thanks to the folks referring me to the lottery law. I will defer to a lawyer. But if you follow the applicable law, you must admit. It seems to be valid.”
He added a caveat: “That does not enumerate the FEC law.”
