Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and founder of SpaceX, is under investigation for potentially violating Wisconsin election laws by offering $1 million to voters in connection with the 2025 state Supreme Court election. This conclusion comes from a bipartisan review by the Wisconsin Elections Commission, which has referred the matter to the Brown County district attorney's office.
Last week, the commission voted 5-1 to send two complaints regarding Musk's actions to the district attorney. The complaints stem from incidents where Musk distributed checks to voters at a rally shortly before the election. Under Wisconsin law, offering money to influence voting is considered election bribery, and prosecutors have 40 days to determine whether to file charges.
Musk's involvement in the election was significant, with him and affiliated groups spending over $20 million to support Republican candidate Brad Schimel, who ultimately lost to Democratic candidate Susan Crawford by 10 percentage points. The election itself set records, with expenditures exceeding $100 million, making it the most expensive judicial race in U.S. history.
Three voters in Wisconsin received checks from Musk, with two of those transactions occurring in person at the Green Bay rally. Additionally, Musk's political action committee, America PAC, previously incentivized voters with $100 for signing a petition against what they termed “activist judges.”
Following the election, Musk announced plans to reduce his political spending. However, the fallout from his financial contributions continues, including a lawsuit from the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, which accuses Musk of violating laws against vote bribery and unauthorized lotteries. This lawsuit is still pending in Brown County.
Wisconsin's Democratic attorney general had attempted to prevent Musk from distributing the checks but was unsuccessful in state courts. Musk's legal team has argued that his actions are protected under free speech rights and are intended to foster grassroots opposition to certain judicial philosophies rather than directly support or oppose candidates.
Reported by HarborBeat based on WMAR-2 News (source).
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