Elon Musk Rocks the Vote
Democrats cry foul over his voter petition lottery, but does it merit the uproar?
By Kimberley A. Strassel, WSJ
Oct. 23, 2024 3:33 pm ET
Elon Musk brings a twist to all his endeavors, politics included. The billionaire’s novel efforts to reach new voters on behalf of Republicans are now causing Democrats to cry foul. The left and its media supporters are complaining that Musk’s new lottery payout for petition signers is “illegal,” and are calling for federal investigations. Given their own aggressive voter-registration activities, they might be careful what they ask for.
Musk’s America PAC is playing a central role in the GOP’s get-out-the-vote operation. As part of that effort, it’s debuted some unusual approaches:
Referral payments: The organization this fall started circulating a petition in which voters in seven swing states can sign their support for the First and Second amendments. Musk announced he’d pay $47 for each referral of an eligible voter who signs. (Trump is aiming to be the 47th president.)
A lottery: Musk in recent days expanded the program, offering a daily $1 million prize to a randomly selected petition signer. To be eligible, a petition signer must be a registered voter in Georgia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Michigan, Arizona or Nevada.
Democrats grumbled over the initial referral program, though most grudgingly admitted it didn’t violate the law. Federal law holds it is a crime for anyone who “pays or offers to pay or accepts payment either for registration to vote or for voting.” Even liberal lawyers acknowledged the $47 payments to referrers amounted to paying for voter information—something campaigns do all the time. The Musk PAC could use the info it collected on petition signers to follow up to encourage signers to vote for Donald Trump.
The lottery, announced in recent days, caused a bigger meltdown, with Democrats and supporters quickly insisting it violated the aforementioned law:
The media: “Elon Musk’s daily $1 million giveaway to registered voters could be illegal, experts say”—CNN. “Musk’s $1m-a-day to swing states voters ‘deeply concerning’”—BBC. “Legal experts slam Musk’s $1 million ‘lottery’ for registered voters” –Salon.
Election “experts”: Criticism was fueled by UCLA legal scholar Rick Hasen, who wrote on his Election Law blog that the payout was “clearly illegal” as it amounted to a financial inducement to register to vote. The press had no trouble finding other left-leaning lawyers who climbed on with complaints about “cash for voter registration” or claims that both Musk and lottery recipients could face jail time.
Democrats: Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro on “Meet the Press” opined that the lottery was “deeply concerning,” “raises serious questions” and is something for law enforcement to “take a look at.” “That’s all the rich know: If you can’t beat it, buy it,” griped United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain in Pennsylvania. Asked by “The View” host Whoopi Goldberg what he thought of Musk trying to “buy the election,” Tim Walz blasted the move, noting he’d “let the lawyers decide” on Musk’s actions.
It’s not clear the lottery violates anything. Musk surely retains some top legal talent, who’ve clearly advised him it’s OK. Brad Smith, a former Federal Election Commission chairman, reminded the New York Times that the payments are going to people who sign the petition. The contest may be open only to registered voters, but the winnings aren’t a reward for the act of registering. Musk “comes out OK here,” says Smith. Amusingly, Politico reports that the first two lottery winners had already cast ballots prior to being chosen. So there can be no argument that the lottery win either induced them to register or to vote. (And for all anyone knows, they might have voted for Harris.)
Even taking the dimmest view of Musk’s actions, he looks to be following a Democratic playbook for targeting certain “types” of voters for registration—and then pulling out the stops to get them to do so. A petition aimed at supporters of the First and Second amendments is likely to identify more conservative voters. How is that different from left-leaning groups staging voter drives solely on liberal campuses or in heavily Democratic neighborhoods?
More to the point, the Washington Post last week detailed the flood of money liberal groups are pouring into “free giveaways” and parties “to make voting feel fun.” It wrote that Daybreaker, a “party promoter championed by Democratic donor advisers” is hosting “dance parties” and “free breakfast” in cities across the battleground map to “promote voting and registration.” It further noted the Kamala Harris campaign “has begun paying for weekend street festivals near early-voting centers.” Might free food or a party be viewed as an inducement to register or vote? And all of this seems peanuts compared with the 2020 Zuckerbucks scandal (now mirrored by the new GOP furor over “Bidenbucks”).
Given the constant Democratic complaints about “barriers” to registration and voting, you might think the party would be all for creative efforts to get people engaged in politics. That is, unless they only want Democrats going to the polls. The bigger point: Both sides are being aggressive in the courting of new voters.
Biden’s Birth Control Buy
The Harris team might not want Joe Biden’s presence on the stump, but they’ll happily take his vote-buying assistance. His latest carefully timed giveaway is a new rule to require insurers to cover over-the-counter birth control at no cost.
The Monday announcement is an assist to Democrats, who want to keep the last two weeks of this election focused on “reproductive rights.” ObamaCare already requires most private insurers to cover prescription birth control. The new rule, which will be subject to a 60-day comment period, would expand those requirements to nonprescription birth control pills, morning-after pills and condoms. Not even bothering to hide the rule’s obvious role as an election pitch, Biden broadcast: “At a time when contraception access is under attack, Vice President Harris and I are resolute in our commitment to expanding access to quality, affordable contraception.”
The announcement coincides with a new ad campaign from a progressive advocacy group—Americans for Contraception Victory Fund—hammering Republican candidates across the country as anti-contraception. Politico explains the ads are meant to be a “closing argument” for Democrats in the final weeks of the election and a “chance at reaching voters who may have tuned out warnings over abortion.”
The lure of free over-the-counter birth control joins Biden’s promises in recent months of further student-loan forgiveness, new payouts to special-interest groups under the Inflation Reduction Act and new rules to please Big Labor and the environmental community. In a close election, it never hurts have the federal government helping your campaign.
Pennsylvania Gets Even Hotter
Electoral College watchers agree that nearly all roads to the White House run through Pennsylvania, and the Senate race is now growing equally competitive. Democratic Sen. Bob Casey is spooked enough to be dumping on Biden and cozying up to Trump.
Republican challenger Dave McCormick this spring trailed Casey by double digits but has slowly narrowed the gap. In the past week, pollster Trafalgar found the race tied while Atlas Intel put McCormick ahead by a point. Both polls covered a few of the days following the duo’s second and final debate, suggesting the challenger might have caught some voters’ attention. The Cook Political Report this week moved the race from “leans Democratic” to “toss up,” where it joins Senate races in Ohio, Michigan and Wisconsin.
But don’t take the polls’ word for it. The Casey campaign surprised some Democrats last week when it debuted a new TV campaign that features a married couple who praises Casey because he “bucked Biden to protect fracking and he sided with Trump to end Nafta and put tariffs on China to stop them from cheating.” Like other Democratic senators now battling for re-election, Casey is getting hit with a voting record that has grown far more progressive over his 18 Senate years. Incumbents still have all the advantage, and McCormick faces the steeper climb. But Democrats are growing alarmed that most recent polling is showing small but consistent shifts toward the GOP.
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