With less than two weeks to go before the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election, Elon Musk’s pro-Trump Super PAC gave away two $1 million awards to registered voters in Michigan and Wisconsin on Thursday.
This came despite a Department of Justice (DOJ) warning that the payments could violate federal election laws. The DOJ warned that the lottery could be viewed as an illegal voter registration incentive under federal law.
Musk, Tesla’s chief executive and the world’s richest man, launched the lottery on Saturday, with winners determined daily – until Wednesday, when no winner was announced.
On Thursday, however, the PAC named two winners on X, the social media platform Musk owns, according to CNN.
Musk’s super PAC did not provide an explanation for the delay, and a spokesman declined to comment on the DOJ’s warning.
This comes after Musk, who was an active campaigner for former President Donald Trump, recently announced this lottery-style giveaway of $1 million a day of a randomly selected voter in a swing state who signs the PAC’s petition in support of the First and Second Amendments to the Constitution.
Musk also said that to be eligible to vote, each person must be a registered voter.
Musk’s lottery system raises the question that a huge sum could violate a federal law that restricts people from paying people to register to vote.
Musk defended the initiative, pushing back against critics who claimed he was “paying to sign up Republicans.”
He emphasized that the winners “can be from any or no political party and you don’t even have to vote.”
Federal records show Musk has donated nearly $119 million to America PAC, with about $44 million donated in October alone. He expressed hope that the lottery would boost voter registration among Trump supporters.
Musk recently began his campaign rallying for Trump in Pennsylvania and defending his petition while questioning the legitimacy of the 2020 election results.
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