On the eve of the US presidential election, the Pennsylvania courts on Monday rejected a request to suspend the $1 million reward offered daily by Elon Musk, Donald Trump’s supporter, to an American voter in a key state.
• Also read: US presidential election 2024: what you need to know
• Also read: “If she doesn’t win, we’re screwed”: Kamala Harris supporters fear the return of Donald Trump
The judge, who did not rule on the merits of the case, did not give reasons for his rejection of the suspension request presented by the prosecutor’s office in Philadelphia, the main city of the state (north-east). But several legal commentators believe that this decision could be explained by the fact that no more rewards are provided in Pennsylvania.
The boss of SpaceX, Tesla and a Pennsylvania voter.
He then claimed that his political organization which campaigns for Donald Trump, “America PAC”, would hand over each day “a million dollars at random” among the signatories of a conservative petition in favor of freedom of expression and the right to carry weapons.
To participate, you must be a registered voter in one of the seven pivotal states where the presidential election will be played.
But at the hearing Monday, Elon Musk’s lawyers indicated that the winners were not drawn at random, but selected based on their ability to be spokespeople in favor of the petition, media reports.
To date, 16 beneficiaries have been designated, the last two to be designated Monday in Arizona (southwest) and Tuesday in Michigan (north), according to “America PAC”.
Philadelphia prosecutor Larry Krasner filed a civil action on October 28 to stop this operation in order to “protect the population from public nuisances and unfair commercial practices, including illegal lotteries.”
The US Department of Justice has already reminded the billionaire’s team that it is illegal to offer a valuable reward to a citizen to vote or register to vote, and outgoing President Joe Biden has called the initiative of “totally inappropriate”.
The ministry did not mention legal action, but specified the penalties provided for in the event of violation of the law in this area, namely fines or even prison.
