Could Musk’s actions on the Wisconsin Judge race get him charged there?…Update

Elon Musk money offers could be breaking Wisconsin State Vote law there…..

It would be up to Wisconsin ….

And you can bet President Trump would threaten the state if his ‘guy’ WAS charged with a crime…

This IS the Trump times…

Oh?

Musk was told to cut this out by the US Justice Dept. for the  2024 Election….

*UPDATE…

MADISON, Wis. — Amid legal questions, Elon Musk deleted a social media post Friday saying he would give out $1 million prizes to two Wisconsin residents to thank them for voting in a high-stakes state Supreme Court race….

….

Scholars said Musk’s initial plan looked illegal. “Musk’s activities appear to violate the plain meaning of the statute,” UCLA law professor Richard Hasen wrote on a blog about election policies….

More….

…

Wisconsin law makes payment for turnout illegal. In particular, under section 12.11(1m)(a)(2), it is a crime to “offer[]…anything of value…to…any elector…in order to induce any elector to: (a) Vote or refrain from voting.” This is separate and apart from a prohibition on voting or refraining to vote “for or against any particular person.” (Thanks to Nate Ela for the pointer.)

I haven’t yet researched Wisconsin caselaw applying the provision. But Musk’s activities appear to violate the plain meaning of the statute. He’s offering a chance to win a million dollars, with is a thing of value, and it’s only offered to people who have voted. One might say he’s not inducing people, but instead rewarding them. I don’t think this helps, because the statute likely covers rewarding as well—think of people who decide to vote in order to attend the talk for the lottery chance to win a million dollars.

I wrote at Slate yesterday about how the psychological barriers to the superwealthy trying to convert their economic power into political power seem to have collapsed. Musk is leading the charge, but he’s unlikely to be the only one. At the least officials can go after the outright illegality.

Officials may not go after him. DOJ sent him a warning letter in the 2024 election season, but Trump’s DOJ certainly won’t prosecute him. And he got a ton of free publicity. So this may work out well for Musk. But that doesn’t make it legal….

More…