Philadelphia District Attorney's Office on Monday filed a lawsuit against a committee controlled by Elon Musk, seeking to stop making one million dollars available to registered voters in crucial swing U.S. states, days before the Nov. 5 election.
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The complaint, filed by the chief prosecutor in the Philadelphia County Common Law Court, called the lottery of Musk's America PAC, which backs Republican former President Donald Trump, an "illegal lottery" that enticed Pennsylvanians to share their personal data.
According to the prosecutor, the sweepstakes in question violate state consumer protection laws. He said that if the practice continued, it would "irreparably harm the people of Philadelphia — and others in Pennsylvania — and hurt the public's right to free and fair elections."
"America PAC and Musk must be stopped, immediately, before the upcoming Presidential Election on November 5, " Philadelphia District Attorney Lawrence Krasner said in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit comes days after the US justice department warned Musk’s PAC that its $1 million giveaway might violate federal election law.
Musk, who has been aggressively campaigning for Donald Trump, has said voters who want to be eligible for the prizes do not need to register as Republicans or vote.
As part of that effort, Musk announced in October that he would randomly award a $1m prize to people in battleground states - Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan and North Carolina - every day until 5 November.
To be eligible to win, the giveaway requires registered voters to release personal identifying information, like addresses and phone numbers. They are also required to sign a pledge that says they support the US Constitution.
So far, nine $1m-prize winners have been announced, the latest a man from Michigan.
An America PAC spokesperson responded ironically to Reuters' request for comment, sending a link to the team's latest post on platform X, which said it announced the latest lottery winner and said additional prizes would be awarded daily until the election.
Pennsylvania is one of seven crucial states in which the presidential race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris will be decided. Whichever candidate wins the state will receive its 19 electoral votes, out of a total of 270 needed to win.
A few days ago, the Justice Department sent a letter to America PAC, warning that the sweepstakes may violate federal law.
Musk's America PAC is giving away $1 million every day until Election Day to a person chosen at random after signing a petition for free speech and the right to bear arms. Under the "terms" the winner must be a registered voter, while the contest does not specify which candidate voters should vote for.
