Wisconsin lawsuit seeks to ban Elon Musk from offering $1 million checks to voters

MADISON, Wis. -- A authorities watchdog radical successful Wisconsin filed a suit Wednesday seeking to prohibit billionaire Elon Musk from ever again offering currency payments to voters successful the battleground authorities similar helium did successful this spring's hotly contested Supreme Court race.

Musk handed retired $1 cardinal checks to 3 Wisconsin voters, including 2 successful idiosyncratic conscionable days earlier the state's April 1 Supreme Court election, successful an effort to assistance elite blimpish campaigner Brad Schimel. Two weeks earlier the election, Musk’s governmental enactment committee, America PAC, offered $100 to voters who signed a petition successful absorption to “activist judges," oregon referred idiosyncratic to motion it.

It was each portion of much than $20 cardinal that Musk and groups helium enactment spent connected the contention successful an effort to flip bulk power of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. More than $100 cardinal was spent by some sides, making it the most costly tribunal race successful U.S. history.

Musk's preferred campaigner lost to Democratic-backed Susan Crawford by 10 percent points. Her triumph cemented the 4-3 wide bulk connected the Wisconsin Supreme Court until astatine slightest 2028.

Since that election, Musk announced helium volition spend little connected governmental campaigns and past feuded publically with President Donald Trump aft exiting his administration.

The suit filed Wednesday successful authorities tribunal by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign says that Musk's actions make "the hazard that Wisconsin elections volition go an unfastened auction, wherever votes spell to the preferred candidates of the highest bidders and the predetermination result is determined by which campaigner has a patron consenting and capable to wage the highest sum to Wisconsin voters.”

The suit says that Musk and 2 groups helium funds violated prohibitions connected ballot bribery and unauthorized lotteries and says his actions were an unlawful conspiracy and nationalist nuisance. The suit asks the tribunal to bid that Musk ne'er connection akin payments to voters again.

There is different Wisconsin Supreme Court election successful April. In November 2026, power of the Legislature and the governor’s office, arsenic good arsenic the state’s 8 legislature districts, volition beryllium decided.

The latest suit was filed connected behalf of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign and a brace of voters by the wide Wisconsin-based Law Forward and the Washington-based Democracy Defenders Fund. It was filed against Musk, his radical America PAC that announced the petition and the Musk-funded radical United States of America Inc. that made the payments.

The tribunal that Crawford joins successful August could yet perceive the caller lawsuit. Crawford would astir surely beryllium asked to recuse from the case, and if she did, the tribunal would beryllium near with a 3-3 divided betwixt blimpish and wide justices.

The existent court, besides controlled 4-3 by liberals, declined to perceive a akin hastily filed lawsuit brought by Wisconsin's Democratic lawyer wide seeking to artifact Musk's handing retired of 2 $1 cardinal checks to voters 2 days earlier the election.

Two little courts rejected that lawsuit earlier the Supreme Court declined to perceive it connected procedural grounds.

Musk’s attorneys argued successful that lawsuit that Musk was exercising his escaped code rights with the giveaways and immoderate effort to restrict that would interruption some the Wisconsin and U.S. constitutions.

Musk’s governmental enactment committee utilized a astir identical tactic earlier the statesmanlike predetermination past year, offering to pay $1 cardinal a time to voters successful Wisconsin and six different battleground states who signed a petition supporting the First and Second amendments. A justice successful Pennsylvania said prosecutors failed to show the effort was an amerciable lottery and allowed it to proceed done Election Day.

A federal lawsuit filed successful Pennsylvania successful April alleges that Musk and his governmental enactment committee failed to wage much than $20,000 for getting radical to motion that petition successful 2024. America PAC connected Monday filed a question to dismiss. That lawsuit is pending.