Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, is offering money to people in key states to help gather signatures for a petition that supports the First and Second Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. The petition backs free speech and the right to bear arms.
Last week, Musk announced on his social media platform, X, that he would pay $47 to people who refer registered voters in swing states to sign the petition. This week, he increased the amount to $100.
Swing states, or battleground states, are important because they can decide the outcome of a presidential election. Pennsylvania is one of the key states in the upcoming election, with 19 Electoral College votes at stake.
Musk posted on X, saying, "If you’re a registered Pennsylvania voter, you & whoever referred you will now get $100 for signing our petition in support of free speech & the right to bear arms."
The petition seeks to gather one million signatures from registered voters in swing states. The offer is open until midnight on Monday, October 21, and is limited to registered voters in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, and North Carolina.
The rules state that each person can only sign the petition once, and they can only refer one eligible person. It is also prohibited to sign the petition for someone else. Before any payments are made, America PAC will verify the information of both the referrer and the signer. If a referrer earns $600 or more, they must provide a signed IRS W-9 form.
Musk is linked to America PAC, a political group that supports Donald Trump's campaign.
Meanwhile, the card game Cards Against Humanity is encouraging left-leaning voters who did not vote in the 2020 election to participate this year.
Some might wonder if Musk’s offer is legal. Federal law bans paying people to vote or accept payment for registering to vote. However, paying people to sign petitions or refer others is legal.
Campaign finance lawyer Brendan Fischer said that because America PAC is only paying the referrer, it protects the group from accusations of buying votes. Fischer noted that the PAC is spending money to collect voter data, which is common for political action committees.
