Elon Musk is asking his followers on X to sign a petition supporting the Constitution, and in return, earn some cash. The petition was started by America PAC, a pro-Trump group founded by Musk.
“Earn $47 for every person you refer to sign the petition if they’re in a swing state,” Musk posted on X. “The goal is to get 1M voters in swing states to show support for free speech & right to bear arms.”
Federal law prohibits paying or offering to pay someone to vote or register to vote, but it is legal to pay people to encourage others to vote. It is also legal to compensate individuals who gather signatures for petitions, although some states have laws making it illegal for campaigns to pay based on reaching a target number of signatures.
America PAC is based in Texas, where there are no specific laws regarding pay-per-signature compensation, making Musk’s financial incentive legally valid for garnering more signatures.
The petition is described as pledging support for the First Amendment and Second Amendment, which grant freedom of speech and the right to bear arms.
The petition is only open to registered voters in swing states, and the line for the $47 referral credit is located just above the “Sign Petition” portion.
If half of the 1 million signature goal comes from referrals, the financial incentive would cost America PAC more than $23 million.
This push comes at a crucial time as campaigns for former President Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris ramp up in these battleground states. Recent polls show a tight race, with Harris leading Trump by just 3.4 percentage points, 49.8% to Trump’s 46.4%.
