Elon Musk Gets Reminder From the DOJ That Paying People to Vote Is a Crime Punishable By Up To 5 Years in Prison | Vanity FairSkip to main contentOpen Navigation MenuMenuSearchSearchPoliticsBusinessHollywoodStyleCultureRoyalsCelebrityVideoPodcastsArchiveVF ShopWhat Is Cinema?ArchiveVF ShopMagazinePoliticsElon Musk Gets Reminder From the DOJ That Paying People to Vote Is a Crime Punishable By Up To 5 Years in PrisonHe’s given away $4 million to four swing-state voters so far, with plans to continue through Election Day.By Bess LevinOctober 24, 2024Chesnot/Getty ImagesSave this storySaveSave this storySaveWondering whether or not Elon Musk’s little election giveaway stunt—wherein the richest man in the world has pledged to give $1 million a day to petition-signing registered voters, as part his attempt to get Donald Trump elected—is legal? Wonder no longer! It very likely is not, according to the Department of Justice, which got in touch with Musk this week.In a letter sent days after he announced the sweepstakes, Robert Heberle, the head of the DOJ’s election crimes branch, told Musk that offering anything of monetary value to influence voters violates federal law. (The letter was first reported by the “24sight” newsletter and has been confirmed by other news outlets.) The letter reportedly “did not specify any immediate legal action” but “did spell out the penalties for breaking US voting laws, including possible imprisonment of up to five years.”On the website for Musk’s “America PAC,” the petition that would-be $1 million recipients are required to sign 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 also says, “Our goal is to get 1 million registered voters in swing states to sign in support of the Constitution, especially freedom of speech and the right to bear arms. This program is exclusively open to registered voters in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, and North Carolina. Expires November 5.” Four people—three in Pennsylvania and one in North Carolina—have been awarded money so far, most recently “Andy from Holly Springs, NC,” whom Musk congratulated Wednesday.X contentThis content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.A DOJ spokesman declined The New York Times’ request for comment. Musk, his super PAC, and its lawyer have not responded to requests for comment. Rick Hasen, the director of the UCLA School of Law’s Safeguarding Democracy Project, wrote on his blog Saturday that Musk’s plan is “clearly illegal” because the petition stipulates signers are registered voters in certain states.Speaking at a rally in Wisconsin on Tuesday, Tim Walz called Musk a “dipshit” and told the crowd: “That guy is literally the richest man in the world. And he’s spending millions of dollars to help Donald Trump buy an election.”If you would like to receive the Levin Report in your inbox daily, click here to subscribe.More Great Stories From Vanity FairSee Our Winner Predictions for the 2025 SAG AwardsHow Patrick Schwarzenegger “Eye-F—ed” His Way Onto The White LotusThe White Lotus Season 3: All the Easter Eggs You May Have MissedThe Education—and Anointment—of Barron TrumpMillie Bobby Brown on Stranger Things, Marriage, and Life on the FarmA Lovesick Aristocrat and the Royal Family’s Nazi-Connected ShamesThe Power & the Glamour: Michelle Yeoh, Gwyneth Paltrow, and MoreWhere to Watch Every 2025 Oscar-Nominated MovieChronicling JD Vance’s Circuitous Rise to Power: Listen to the Inside the Hive Podcast with Host Radhika JonesInside Princess Diana’s Loves, Heartbreaks, and True RomancesEvery Steven Spielberg Movie, RankedFrom the Archive: Seduction-to-Spilt Secrets From Ava Gardner’s Three MarriagesBess LevinPolitics CorrespondentBess Levin is a politics correspondent at Vanity Fair. An essential voice of our current tragicomedy, she is an incisive, hilarious daily narrator of the horrors that never seem to stop. If you need catharsis in these terrifying times—or even if you don’t!—she is a must-read. You can follow her ... 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Just a reminder?