Elon Musk’s daily $1 million giveaway to registered voters is headed back to state court after a judge on Friday rejected his bid to move a Pennsylvania lawsuit against him and his America PAC The decision is bad news for Musk’s attempt to delay possible accountability over the blatantly pro-Trump lottery.
On Monday, Philadelphia District Attorney Lawrence Krasner sued the tech mogul and his super PAC over the lottery, which awards $1 million each day to a registered voter in the battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin who signs a pledge to support the First and Second Amendments to the Constitution. Krasner argued that under Pennsylvania law, only the state can run a lottery for the benefit of the state’s seniors.
The Philadelphia DA also alleged that neither Musk nor the PAC published clear rules for the giveaway, or explained how they are protecting entrants’ personal information. The lawsuit questioned whether the million-dollar winners are actually random, considering that two of them had attended Trump rallies.
Musk was required to attend a court proceeding in Pennsylvania on Thursday and not only didn’t show up, but also delayed the case by asking that it be moved to federal court, claiming that the lawsuit raised questions about free speech and election interference more suited to federal law. The state judge then decided to place the lawsuit on hold until a federal court decided whether to hear the case.
Now that a federal court has declined to take the case, it goes back to a Pennsylvania state court, which will decide if Musk or the super PAC broke any state laws. Last week, the Justice Department sent the PAC a warning letter stating that the lottery may violate federal laws against paying people to register to vote. For one day, the giveaway seemed to stop, only to resume the next day with two prizes awarded.
Despite the setback, Musk still may have successfully delayed the case until after Election Day on Tuesday, as the earliest proceedings in the lawsuit could begin would be Monday, and Krasner would have to hope for a favorable injunction to stop the giveaway that day. Musk could keep his giveaway going through the weekend. However, one can still hope that a billionaire openly giving away money for political purposes will face consequences.
