Elon Musk loses bid to move case over $1 million voter prizes

2/11/2024 5:45

        A U.S. judge on Friday denied Elon
        Musk's bid to move a Pennsylvania lawsuit over his $1 million
        voter prizes to federal court, moving the case back to state
        court.
        
        It was not immediately clear if the decision would affect
        the billionaire's plan to keep awarding money until the U.S.
        presidential election on Tuesday.
        
        The decision was issued by U.S. District Judge Gerald
        Pappert in Philadelphia federal court.
        
        Musk has been giving $1 million checks to randomly selected
        registered voters who sign a petition supporting free speech and
        gun rights.
        
        Musk's America PAC had awarded $1 million prizes to 14
        people as of Friday and said the final prize will be given on
        Tuesday.
        
        Democratic Philadelphia District Attorney Lawrence Krasner
        sued Musk and his political action committee, which backs
        Republican former President Donald Trump, on Oct. 28 in a state
        court to try to block the giveaway. Krasner called the program
        an illegal lottery.
        
        Two days later, Tesla CEO Musk and his America PAC
        sought to move it to federal court, arguing Krasner's lawsuit
        raised questions about free-speech rights and election
        interference that belong in federal court. That prompted the
        state judge who had been overseeing the case to put it on hold.
        
        In arguing that the case belonged in state court, Krasner
        called Musk's maneuver an attempt to "run the clock until
        Election Day." Krasner did not allege the giveaway violates
        federal law.
        
        Philadelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania, one of
        seven battleground states likely to determine the outcome of the
        race between Trump and his Democratic opponent, Vice President
        Kamala Harris.
        
        Musk's offer is limited to registered voters in the seven
        states expected to decide the election - Arizona, Georgia,
        Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
        
        Musk gave away the first $1 million at an Oct. 19 America
        PAC rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's state capital.
        
        The giveaway falls in a gray area of election law, and legal
        experts are divided on whether Musk could be violating federal
        laws against paying people to register to vote.
        
        The U.S. Department of Justice warned America PAC the
        giveaway could violate federal law, according to media reports,
        but federal prosecutors have not taken any public action.
        
        Musk has so far given nearly $120 million to America PAC,
        according to federal disclosures.