Philadelphia sues Musk over $1 million voter lottery

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner filed a civil lawsuit on Monday accusing Elon Musk’s America PAC of running an illegal lottery. The tech tycoon planned to give out a $1 million prize every day until the Nov. 5 election to a registered voter in a swing state who signed a petition supporting the First and Second Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. Since the first drawing on Oct. 19, the PAC has announced a total of nine winners across six states.

The PAC is luring Americans into giving up personal information and making a political pledge for the chance to win $1 million, which is undeniably a lottery, according to the lawsuit. Pennsylvania law stipulates that only the state may run lotteries, making Musk’s giveaway illegal, the lawsuit continued. The complaint also questioned if the winner selection process was as random as advertised, noting that several of the PAC’s winners all happened to attend Trump rallies.

What does the lawsuit say about vote buying? The lawsuit is only focused on the PAC’s potential violation of the state’s laws against illegal lotteries and deceiving consumers, not laws prohibiting the purchase of votes. The district attorney is charged with protecting the public from unfair trade practices and protecting against election interference, Krasner’s office said in a statement.

The U.S. Department of Justice warned America PAC last week about the initiative’s potential illegality, reminding the group that federal law prohibits the practice of bribing voters to persuade them to cast ballots or register to vote. Federal voting and election law states that whoever knowingly pays or offers to pay for registration to vote could face a $10,000 fine with up to five years in prison.

WORLD reached out to America PAC for comment and had not received a reply as of Monday afternoon.

Dig deeper: Read my report for more on the DOJ’s warning letter to Musk’s PAC.