The CEO of X and Telsa Elon Musk, in offering support for Donald Trump in the coming election, is hoping to sway in favor of the Republicans the trust of the residents of Pennsylvania who are yet to be registered by offering them the sum of $100 to sign a petition.
Musk who is a Republican faithful had tweeted on X: “If you’re a registered Pennsylvania voter, you & whoever referred you will now get $100 for signing our petition in support of free speech & right to bear arms. Earn money for supporting something you already believe in! Offer valid until midnight on Monday.”
The petition, floated by Musk’s America PAC, aims to gather 1 million signatures to swing state voters in support of the First and Second Amendments of the US Constitution. The PAC was formed with backing from Musk and other tech entrepreneurs specifically to support Trump’s campaign.
The petition reads, “The First and Second Amendments guarantee freedom of speech and the right to bear arms. By signing below, I am pledging my support for the First and Second Amendments.”
It offers a further $47 for each subsequent registered voter someone refers to the petition. While this requires a signed IRS form for payments of $600 or more, there appears to be no limit on the number of registered voters that can be referred.
The stated goal of the petition is to register 1 million voters across swing states, only allowing registered voters in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin and North Carolina to sign and claim $100 before the offer expires on October 21 (the deadline for voter registration).
Similarly, the America PAC homepage is recruiting people who “are interested in working on increasing voter registration and voter turnout” for $30 an hour and “bonuses for performance.”
To curb potential fraud, the SpaceX boss said that cheques will only be mailed to addresses listed in state voter rolls.
“Note, to minimize fraud, checks will be mailed to your voter address on file with the state of Pennsylvania.”
While federal law dictates that paying individuals to vote or accepting payment for voter registration or voting is an offense, compensating people for signing petitions or for convincing others to sign petitions is not against the law.
Pennsylvania is a key battleground in the election, with both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump focusing considerable resources on the state, according to an NBC News report.
Recent opinion polls indicate the race in Pennsylvania is tight, with a Quinnipiac University survey showing Harris leading by 3 percentage points, and a Wall Street Journal survey showing Trump leading by 1 point.
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