Billionaire Elon Musk pledged to give away $1 million each day until November’s election to people who sign his online petition for registered voters — meaning the jaw-dropping sum will be doled out at random 16 more times until Election Day.
Musk awarded a Pennsylvania voter an over-sized seven-figure check while stumping for former President Donald Trump at a rally in Harrisburg on Saturday, and promised more payouts would be doled out at random to those who signed his online petition.
All rally attendees had to sign the tech mogul’s “America PAC” petition pledging to uphold the right to free speech and the right to bear arms to attend the event.
Musk initially founded the super PAC to support Trump this election cycle.
The first winner on Saturday, a man named John Dreher, reportedly had no idea he was going to walk away from the event with a massive check — and has since agreed to become a spokesman for the petition drive.
And on Sunday, Pennsylvanian Kristine Fishell won the big check while attending Musk’s event at McKees Rock, just outside of Pittsburgh – where Musk joked “hopefully I don’t get a shot” over the criticism his activism has drawn.
“All you have to do is sign a petition in support of the constitution,” Musk said Sunday – noting that he’s been dubbed “public enemy No. 2” by the press.
“Enemy No. 2 of what? Like democracy? All I’m literally trying to do is, I’m upholding the Constitution to ensure we have a free and fair election,” Musk said.
Here’s how to get a shot and cashing in on Musk’s multimillion-dollar giveaway.
Who is eligible
Musk’s America PAC says the offer is available only to registered voters in swing states.
That means you’re out of luck if you’re not able to cast a ballot in one of the six states that are likely to decide the presidential election.
The states are:
- Pennsylvania
- Georgia
- Arizona
- Michigan
- Wisconsin
- North Carolina
And time is running out. The offer expires Oct. 21, according to America PAC — which presumably means supporters must sign the petition no later than Monday.
How do you sign the petition?
The petition can be found linked on the America PAC’s website.
Signers must provide their full name, email address, cellphone number and mailing address to register.
What does the petition say?
The petition reads: “The First and Second Amendments guarantee freedom of speech and the right to bear arms. By signing below, I am pledging my support for the First and Second Amendments.”
It also tells potential signers they can “EARN $1,000,000!”
“Our goal is to get 1 million registered voters in swing states to sign in support of the Constitution, especially freedom of speech and the right to bear arms. This program is exclusively open to registered voters in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin and North Carolina. Expires October 21,” the petition reads.
Petition signers are promised $47 if they can get voters from other swing states to sign on.
The PAC is also offering $100 to sign on registered voters from Pennsylvania through Monday.
What are the legal questions with Musk’s petition payout?
Federal law prohibits paying people to vote, rewarding them to cast a vote, or even for registering to vote — however, compensating people for signing petitions or convincing others to sign them is not illegal.
Even still, election law experts told The Wall Street Journal they were split on whether Musk was acting outside the law.
Richard Hasen, an election-law legal scholar, told the outlet he felt Musk “may well have crossed the line” and compared the petition to fast-food chains offering free food to people wearing “I voted” stickers. According to Hasen, both can be construed as illegal inducements.
However, Bradley Smith, a former Federal Election Commission chairman, argued that the petition was too indirect to be against the law.
“My inclination would be to say he’s not paying them to register to vote,” Smith told the outlet. “It’s too attenuated,” he added. “Most of the benefits are going to people already registered to vote.”
With Post wires
