Elon Musk Veers Into Vote Buying

Monday, October 21, 2024

Elon Musk says on stage at a town hall that America PAC will be awarding $1 million every day until the election to a registered Pennsylvania voter who has signed his petition.

Posted by reinheitsgebot at 05:32 PM | 14 COMMENTS | permalink

Comments

I'll sign a petition to strap that ------- idiot African to a Spacex booster and watch him roast.

#1 | Posted by LegallyYourDead at 2024-10-21 12:14 AM

I've always thought that the election itself should be a lottery. Give out a million dollar prize or some such. Would definitely raise the percentage of actual voters.

... Elon Musk says on stage at a town hall that America PAC will be awarding $1 million every day until the election to a registered Pennsylvania voter who has signed his petition. ...

Well, Citizens United allowed the purchase of politicians.

So why not go the next step, and allow the purchase of votes?

The 2010 Supreme Court decision further tilted political influence toward wealthy donors and corporations. (2019)
www.brennancenter.org

... January 21, 2020 will mark a decade since the Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, a controversial decision that reversed century-old campaign finance restrictions and enabled corporations and other outside groups to spend unlimited funds on elections.

While wealthy donors, corporations, and special interest groups have long had an outsized influence in elections, that sway has dramatically expanded since the Citizens United decision, with negative repercussions for American democracy and the fight against political corruption. ...

voter who has signed his petition. ...

Makes me wonder why? Of what use is this petition?

@#5 ... Of what use is this petition? ...

Develop a mailing list?

Why wouldn't someone who has $200+billion want a mailing list of people in a swing state whose votes he may be able to purchase?

Merrick Garland asleep at the wheel

Develop a mailing list?

That's about all I can think of, but it would be cheaper just to buy the list.

@#8 ... but it would be cheaper just to buy the list. ...

But just buying the list won't get the publicity.

So then, there seems to be that publicity aspect to consider also.

I read one item (not sure that I could find the link again) where there are some people who are actually questioning whether Musk really wants Trump to win. Now it's not that he would necessarily like to see Harris win, but that he wants to take control of the Republican party and the best way for him to do that it to have Trump lose and then he will be there to pick up the pieces, and while he himself can't run in 2028, he could be the king maker.

OCU

Another question...

If Mr Musk's ~contest~ is only for registered voters... is he effectively trying to pay people to register to vote?

If so, is that legal?

Elon Musk's PAC Is Paying $47 For Each Solicited Petition Signature From A Swing State Voter -- Here's Why It's Controversial
www.forbes.com

... Is It Legal To Pay Someone To Recruit Petition Signatures?

Yes. It is legal to compensate signature gatherers, or circulators, who collect petition signatures, though the exact laws vary by state. Some states, like Arizona, Florida and Utah, have made it illegal for campaigns or other employers to pay based on the number of signatures gathered"known as pay-per-signature compensation"but it is almost always legal to pay by the hour for time spent soliciting signatories. The America PAC is based in Texas, where there are no specific laws about pay-per-signature compensation. ...

Is It Legal To Pay Someone To Register To Vote?

No. Federal law prohibits anyone from paying or offering to pay someone to vote or register to vote, but, like paying petition circulators, it is legal to pay people to encourage others to do so. The America PAC, for instance, pays $30 per hour to people working to increase voter turnout. Earlier this year, the Biden Administration said it would pay college students to help register voters through the Federal Work-Study Program. ...