Wisconsin AG Sues Elon Musk to Block $1M Payment Offers

M
ADISON, Wis. — On Friday, Wisconsin’s Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul took legal action, seeking a court order to prevent billionaire Elon Musk from distributing $1 million checks to voters over the weekend. This request comes just two days prior to a critical Supreme Court election in the state.

Kaul lodged the lawsuit in Dane County Circuit Court, aiming to halt Musk’s plans to distribute the funds, which he announced would occur on Sunday in Wisconsin. Initially, Musk revealed on his social media platform, X, that he intended to “personally hand over” $2 million to two voters who had already cast their ballots.

However, Musk later clarified that the funds would be allocated to individuals acting as “spokesmen” for an online petition opposing “activist” judges. After initially stating that the event would be exclusive to voters from the Supreme Court race, he adjusted the criteria to include only those who had signed the petition.

On the same day, Musk’s political action committee announced that its first $1 million giveaway would go to Scott Ainsworth, a Green Bay resident who has previously supported the Wisconsin GOP and the conservative candidate in the Supreme Court race, as well as expressed support for former President Donald Trump.

Approximately 12 hours after Musk’s initial announcement regarding the Sunday giveaway, he deleted the post from X, only to issue a clarification shortly thereafter.

His original statement indicated that he intended to distribute $1 million checks to two voters at the event, taking place just two days before the pivotal election that will influence the ideological direction of the court in this battleground state.

“I will also personally hand over two checks for a million dollars each as a token of appreciation for your time spent voting,” Musk’s now-removed post stated. “This is extremely important.”

Kaul requested the court to mandate Musk to cease promoting the Sunday giveaway and to refrain from making any future payments to Wisconsin voters. He cited the shifting nature of the Sunday event in his argument that any payments to voters would contravene state laws.

Despite the deletion of the original post, Kaul pointed out in his lawsuit that no notifications have been made regarding the cancellation of the payments.

Andrew Romeo, a spokesperson for Musk’s political action committee, declined to comment on the ongoing lawsuit.

The upcoming Supreme Court race has seen expenditures surpassing $81 million, shattering previous records for a U.S. judicial election and evolving into a referendum on Musk himself and the early days of Trump’s presidency.

Trump has endorsed Republican Brad Schimel and even hosted a telephone town hall with him on Thursday evening.

“This is a very important election,” Trump remarked during his brief phone address organized by Schimel’s campaign. “While it may seem local, it’s far from it. The entire nation is watching.”

Schimel, currently a judge in Waukesha County, is set to face Dane County Judge Susan Crawford in the election on Tuesday. Crawford is supported by a diverse coalition of Democrats, including the liberal justices who currently hold a 4-3 majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, as well as former President Barack Obama. The retirement of a liberal justice this year has made the court’s majority control a contentious issue.

Kaul’s lawsuit was initially assigned to Crawford but was quickly reassigned to another judge in Columbia County within minutes.

Musk’s PAC announced on Friday that it had awarded $1 million to Scott Ainsworth, a mechanical engineer from Green Bay, for signing its petition against “activist” judges. In a video shared on X, Ainsworth encouraged others to sign the petition and “vote early for Brad Schimel.”

“If everyone in the MAGA movement shows up and votes for Brad Schimel, we will prevail,” Ainsworth stated in the video.

Ainsworth contributed $350 to Schimel’s campaign this year, according to campaign finance records. He has also made numerous Facebook posts since January promoting Schimel, showcasing campaign event photos, endorsements from local organizations, and X posts from Trump encouraging Wisconsin residents to support Schimel.

Musk also offered $100 to any registered Wisconsin voter who either signed the petition or forwarded it to someone who did.

This raised concerns about the legality of the petition, as Wisconsin law prohibits offering anything of value to persuade a voter to cast or abstain from voting.

Although Musk’s alterations to his offer may lessen the situation’s severity, they do not necessarily resolve the legal dilemma, according to Bryna Godar, a staff attorney with the State Democracy Research Initiative at the University of Wisconsin Law School.

“The core question is whether these offers are made ‘to induce’ people to vote or attend the polls, and there are valid arguments on both sides,” she explained in an email.

Any legal challenge regarding Musk’s payments could eventually reach the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Schimel, a former attorney general, was questioned about the petition on Thursday by WISN-TV.

“I actually thought about whether I should sign that petition. While I oppose activist judges, I felt it wasn’t appropriate,” Schimel remarked.

Regarding the $1 million award, Schimel added, “I’m not aware of the selection criteria.”

Crawford’s campaign spokesperson, Derrick Honeyman, criticized Musk’s planned visit to Wisconsin as a “desperate last-minute distraction.”

“Wisconsinites don’t want a billionaire like Musk dictating their voting choices, and on Tuesday, they should reject Musk’s ally, Brad Schimel,” he stated.