Wisconsin takes legal action against Elon Musk over election cash offering
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Elon Musk at the White House on March 24. Photo: Brendan Smialowski / AFP via Getty Images
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul (D) announced Friday the state is taking legal action against Elon Musk for the billionaire's offer in a since-deleted post to pay voters for casting ballots in the state's Supreme Court race.
The big picture: Musk has spent millions on the contest for a single seat, in what has become a nationalized proxy fight between political parties and billionaire benefactors — and a referendum on President Trump.
Driving the news: Kaul said in a statement Friday that the state's Department of Justice is "aware of the offer recently posted by Elon Musk to award a million dollars to two people at an event in Wisconsin this weekend."
- He said, "Based on our understanding of applicable Wisconsin law, we intend to take legal action today to seek a court order to stop this from happening."
- The state's Department of Justice "is committed to ensuring that elections in Wisconsin are safe, secure, free, and fair," the attorney general added.
Zoom in: Musk on Thursday originally posted to X saying he'd hold a rally in Wisconsin on Sunday and "personally hand over" $2 million to two people who already voted in the Supreme Court election, according to local outlet WKOW.
- He also said the event would be limited to people who already cast their ballots.
What he's saying: Musk deleted the statement Friday and said in a new post that entrance to his talk will be limited to those who have signed a petition expressing their opposition to "activist judges," a cause Trump has pressed as judges block or delay several parts of his agenda.
- "I will also hand over checks for a million dollars to 2 people to be spokesmen for the petition," Musk said.
- His political action committee earlier this month also offered Wisconsin voters $100 to sign the petition.
Zoom out: The April 1 election in Wisconsin will determine the tilt of an ideologically divided bench in a swing state where state-level decisions can carry national implications for abortion rights, legislative redistricting and election laws, Axios' Alex Isenstadt reports.
- Two Musk-backed groups — America PAC and Building America's Future — have combined to spend nearly $20 million to support Brad Schimel, the Republican candidate for the Wisconsin court seat.
- The Democratic candidate, Susan Crawford, has drawn millions in donations from progressive donors, including George Soros and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
Go deeper: Musk's PAC offers $100 to Wisconsin voters in pitch against "activist judges"
