Elon Musk and his political action committee (America PAC) are at the center of a legal controversy in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, over a $1 million-a-day lottery aimed at voters in key states to promote the candidate’s campaign Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump. At a hearing Monday, the billionaire’s lawyer, Chris Gober, explained that the winners of the competition, rather than being selected at random as advertised, are carefully chosen to become “spokespeople” paid by America PAC.
Chris Gober clarified that the beneficiaries on Monday and Tuesday will be residents of Arizona and Michigan, and therefore this should not influence the elections in Pennsylvania. He added that winners are selected based on their personal stories and they sign a contract with America PAC. “We know exactly who will be announced as the beneficiary today and tomorrow,” said Chris Gober, quoted by AP News.
An approach contested by the courts
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner challenged this approach, arguing that the system violates the state’s election laws and contradicts Elon Musk’s initial promise made during a meeting with Donald Trump in Pennsylvania on October 19. . The prosecutor asked Judge Angelo Foglietta to suspend the contest, which he called “political marketing disguised as a lottery.” According to him, this lottery is a “scam”.
America PAC Treasurer Chris Young testified that he was surprised by the use of the word “random” in Musk’s announcement. “That’s not the word I would have chosen,” he admitted. Chris Gober has argued that the term “random” is not synonymous with “chance”, which Larry Krasner called “absurd”. The prosecutor also said the first three winners, as of Oct. 19, came from Pennsylvania, just before the Oct. 21 voter registration deadline. Since then, winners have been chosen from Wisconsin, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina and Michigan.
One million participants!
The lottery attracted more than a million participants in seven states to sign a petition in support of the rights to free speech and bear arms. Larry Krasner has expressed concerns about the PAC’s future use of participant data, which he considers to be of “virtually unlimited use.” “They were defrauded out of their information,” he added.
Furthermore, this competition is also questioned regarding the awarding of cash prizes. “It was Elon Musk who presented the checks, even though they were big cardboard checks. We don’t really know if there are real checks behind it,” another lawyer noted. For his part, Larry Krasner indicated that he was still considering possible criminal prosecution to guarantee the integrity of lotteries and elections in Pennsylvania. In his complaint, he claims that PAC America “unquestionably violates” the state’s lottery laws.
