A Draw With A Prize Of 1 Million US Dollars Elon Musk For Trump Voters Is In The Spotlight

Donald Trump/PHOTO via Instagram @realdonaldtrump

JAKARTA - United States businessman Elon Musk announces a lottery with a prize of 1 million US dollars (Rp15.47 billion) every day for Republican sympathizers who register to vote in the US presidential election next month.

The prize draw was carried out by the political action committee Musk, America PAC, and targeted voters in key states in the presidential election.

"We will randomly give 1 million US dollars to residents who signed the petition," Musk said as quoted by ANTARA from Anadolu, Tuesday, October 22.

In order to get a chance to win the draw, voters must sign a petition of support for the 1st and 2nd amendments to the US Constitution. The two amendments are respectively related to freedom of opinion and armed rights, respectively.

The draw also requires voters to be registered in the states of Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, and North Carolina.

"Our challenge is how to make more people know about this petition, because this will not be reported by mainstream media," Musk said.

Musk's efforts to influence US politics are in line with the open support he has given to Donald Trump. However, this method has actually raised public attention to the influence of a person's wealth in politics.

"When someone spends money like this for political purposes, I think this raises serious issues that should be considered," Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro said in an interview with NBC News media.

The draw with Musk's prize also sparked concerns from legal experts. The reason is, US election regulations clearly prohibit cash rewards in voter registration.

"This is clearly illegal," said UCLA professor Rick Hasen, referring to the US Department of Justice's guidance banning cash rewards from influencing voters.

Meanwhile, a political campaign funding lawyer, Brett Kappel, said Musk's attempts to lure that much money showed that America PAC had difficulty achieving its voter target.

However, America PAC tzlah awarded his first USD 1 million prize to John Dreher, who immediately received a cash check from Musk.

In the video broadcast by America PAC, Dreher urged voters to exercise their voting rights during the initial voting period.