A U.S. judge on Friday denied Elon Musk’s request to transfer a Pennsylvania lawsuit regarding his $1 million voter prize initiative to federal court, sending the case back to state court. It remains uncertain whether this decision will impact Musk’s plan to continue awarding money until the U.S. presidential election on Tuesday.
U.S. District Judge Gerald Pappert issued the ruling in Philadelphia federal court. Musk has been distributing $1 million checks to randomly selected registered voters who sign a petition advocating for free speech and gun rights. As of Friday, Musk’s America PAC had awarded $1 million prizes to 14 individuals, with the final prize scheduled for Tuesday.
Democratic Philadelphia District Attorney Lawrence Krasner filed a lawsuit against Musk and his political action committee, which supports Republican former President Donald Trump, on October 28 in state court to block the giveaway, labeling it an illegal lottery.
Two days later, Musk and his America PAC sought to move the case to federal court, arguing that Krasner’s lawsuit raised issues related to free-speech rights and election interference that warranted federal jurisdiction. This prompted the state judge overseeing the case to place it on hold.
Krasner argued that Musk’s attempt to move the case was a strategy to “run the clock until Election Day,” emphasizing that he did not allege the giveaway violated federal law.
Philadelphia, the largest city in Pennsylvania, is 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 giveaway is limited to registered voters in the seven states expected to influence the election: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. He launched the initiative at an October 19 rally for America PAC in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania’s state capital.
Legal experts find the giveaway resides in a gray area of election law, with divided opinions on whether Musk could violate federal laws against incentivizing voter registration. The U.S. Department of Justice has reportedly warned America PAC that the initiative could breach federal law, although federal prosecutors have not taken any public action. To date, Musk has contributed nearly $120 million to America PAC, according to federal disclosures.
