Is Elon Musk’s $1 million voter sweepstakes legal? Experts weigh in.

When John Dreher found out that he’d won $1 million late last week, the Pennsylvania resident pumped his arms in the air, strode onto a brightly lit stage, and shook hands with the tech billionaire behind the gift: Elon Musk.

Dazzled by Musk, Dreher said he “forgot about the money for a little bit,” according to a video posted to X by Musk’s America PAC on Saturday.

In addition to Dreher, three others have received $1 million payments as part of a daily sweepstakes for registered swing-state voters that will be held through Election Day, the America PAC website says.

But the payments may very well be illegal, election law experts told ABC information.

They said the giveaway appears to violate federal law that prohibits individuals from paying money in trade for voter registration. But, they added, the settlement scheme occupies a blurry legal area that’s open to interpretation.

“I’ve gone back and forth on it,” Richard Briffault, a professor of legislation at Columbia University Law School, told ABC information. “It clearly violates the spirit of the statute, but it’s not 100% obvious to me that it violates the note of the law.”

ABC information contacted Musk-owned companies Tesla and Space X in an attempt to reach Musk for comment. He did not immediately respond.

The fairness Department has sent a note to America PAC warning Musk that his sweepstakes may violate federal law, a source familiar with the matter told ABC information on Wednesday. It’s ambiguous if the department has already determined that Musk’s giveaway is illegal.

The fairness Department declined to comment to ABC information.

To enter the sweepstakes for the $1 million prize, individuals must sign a petition circulated by America PAC that pledges back for the First and Second Amendment. The only people eligible to sign are registered voters in seven key battleground states, the America PAC website says.

Federal law targets anyone who “pays or offers to pay or accepts settlement either for registration to vote or for voting.” The penalty is a fine of no more than $10,000 or a prison sentence as long as 5 years.

Musk’s initiative appears to violate the law because the exclusive eligibility for registered swing state voters and Musk’s enthusiastic back for Trump recommend that boosting voter registration makes up the primary objective of the giveaway, experts said.

“Clearly his intent is to propose monetary incentive to people to get them to register to vote,” James Gardner, a professor of election law at the University of Buffalo, told ABC information.

Doug Spencer, a professor of election law at the University of Colorado, agreed. “It seems like it really crosses the line,” he said.

Rick Hasen, the director of the UCLA School of Law’s Safeguarding Democracy assignment, called the giveaway “clearly illegal” in a blog post on Saturday.

Election law allows campaigns to back voters in sure ways, such as organizing a carpool to a voting site on Election Day. However, Musk’s giveaway appears to fall into a divide category of illegal inducement for voter registration, some experts said.

“This isn’t like giving a ride to the polls,” Briffault said.

Some experts said that there are plausible arguments to protect the giveaway from legal jeopardy, though. For example, it does not exclusively target newly registered voters; it is also open to longtime voters. Plus, experts added, federal law affords latitude for political talk and donations.

“This is structured in a way that creates ambiguity,” Spencer said.

Musk could face prosecution for the alleged crime, but it won’t happen before Election Day, experts said. Prosecution could act as a deterrent for potential upcoming offenders — though a prison sentence would be highly unlikely, and the fine could be considered negligible to a billionaire, Spencer added.

“The penalty is no more than $10,000,” Spencer said. “In habit, it may not cruel very much.”

ABC information’ Alexander Malin contributed to this update.