Hasen, Shapiro, and the Trump Sweepstakes: Is It Legal to Ask Musk to Sign a Petition?

Hasen doesn’t think it’s likely that he would be fined that much. I think that would have a different kind of situation if he were warned that he was doing illegal activity.

“I think it’s something that law enforcement should take a look at,” Shapiro said on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday. “I am the governor but it does raise serious questions,” he said.

At a rally in Pennsylvania where Musk has been playing Trump, he gave an audience member a $1 million check. He will give that prize to a random voter every single day until the election on November 5th. The move could be against US election law.

Only people who have signed a petition from Musk’s America PAC are eligible for the sweepstakes-style offer. Only registered voters are allowed to sign the petition. According to its terms, Musk will give $1 million to someone in Pittsburgh today, but will later expand to anyone living in swing states like Georgia, Nevada, or Arizona.

If you look at the conditions, you need to be a registered voter. “And so this is essentially a lottery that’s open only to people who register to vote. So it’s either an incentive for someone to vote or it’s a reward. Either way, it is against federal law.

UCLA election law professor Richard Hasen said that on its face, there’s nothing illegal about a petition sweepstakes. A closer look raises flags for him.

The sweepstakes is raising concerns among election experts and the governor, who was once the state’s attorney general. He is a surrogate for the Harris campaign.