The Wisconsin Elections Commission, comprising three Democrats and three Republicans, voted 5-1 in a closed session last week to refer complaints to the Brown County district attorney's office, according to commission spokesperson Emilee Miklas.
The commission concluded there was evidence Musk violated Wisconsin state law by posting on social media an offer of 1 million USD to a randomly selected voter, intended to encourage participation in the state's supreme court judicial election.
The Brown County district attorney will review the commission's referral to decide whether to prosecute this action on charges of violating state law regarding election bribery. The prosecutor has 40 days to reach a conclusion.
Brown County District Attorney David Lasee, a Republican, has not commented. A spokesperson for Musk has also not issued a statement on the matter.
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Elon Musk presents a check for 1 million USD to Nicholas Jacobs in Green Bay, Wisconsin, 30/3/2025. Photo: AFP |
Elon Musk presents a check for 1 million USD to Nicholas Jacobs in Green Bay, Wisconsin, 30/3/2025. Photo: AFP
Musk, CEO of Tesla, was deeply involved in efforts to regain a majority on Wisconsin's highest court. The tech mogul and groups he supported spent at least 20 million USD on Republican-backed candidate Brad Schimel.
Three Wisconsin voters received checks from Musk, with two accepting them directly at a Green Bay rally. Two weeks before the election, Musk's political action committee, America PAC, offered 100 USD to voters who signed a petition opposing "politically activist judges" or referred others to sign.
However, Brad Schimel lost to Democratic-backed candidate Susan Crawford by a 10% margin.
Crawford's victory allowed the left to maintain control of the state Supreme Court, increasing their majority to 5-2 after the win by Democratic-backed candidate Chris Taylor this year.
A month after the significant defeat, Musk announced he would spend less on political campaigns. Election costs exceeded 100 million USD, making it the most expensive judicial race in US history.
Billionaire Elon Musk's spending in the 2025 election also led to a lawsuit from the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, a government watchdog group. This group seeks to completely prohibit Musk from using cash to attract voters in the state in the future.
The lawsuit is pending in Brown County. The complaint alleges that Musk and two organizations he funded violated prohibitions against voter bribery and operating an illegal lottery, further claiming his actions constituted an unlawful conspiracy detrimental to public order.
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Elon Musk, at an America PAC voter outreach event in Pennsylvania, 17/10/2024. Photo: Reuters |
Elon Musk, at an America PAC voter outreach event in Pennsylvania, 17/10/2024. Photo: Reuters
Last year, just days before the Wisconsin Supreme Court election, the state's Democratic attorney general sued to prevent Musk from issuing checks to two voters, but the state court rejected this request.
Musk's lawyers argued in 2025 legal filings that Musk was exercising his freedom of speech through the incentives, and any attempt to restrict this would violate both the Wisconsin state constitution and the US Constitution.
The payments "were intended to create a grassroots movement against politically activist judges, not to support or oppose any specific candidate," Musk's lawyers argued in court filings.
Musk's political action committee previously employed a nearly identical tactic before the 2024 presidential election, offering to pay 1 million USD daily to voters in Wisconsin and six other battleground states who signed a petition supporting the First and Second Amendments. This effort was challenged in Pennsylvania, but a state judge concluded that prosecutors had not proven the effort was an illegal lottery and allowed it to continue until Election Day.
Hoang Lan (According to AP, Wisn)
