Elon Musk may face prosecution over $1 million voter giveaways in Wisconsin

The Wisconsin Elections Commission has said that Elon Musk may have violated election laws in the state by offering $1 million checks in giveaways to voters to get them to come out and vote in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election.

The commission voted in a 5 to 1 decision to refer two complaints against Musk to the Brown County District Attorney's office, per CBS News, and may lead to prosecution. The motion states that the commission found “probable cause” that bribery election laws were violated by Musk when he did the giveaways with Wisconsin voters. Musk’s America PAC had awarded $1 million checks to three voters who signed a petition against “activist judges.”

Musk spent millions boosting Judge Brad Schimel in the seat for state Supreme Court, but Schimel lost to Democratic-aligned Judge Susan Crawford. At the time leading up to the election, Musk handed out a couple of $1 million checks to voters and made similar efforts in swing states. Advocacy groups sued Musk as well as his America PAC in Wisconsin state courts, but that suit is still pending.

The complaints against Musk that have been referred by the commission are confidential under state law and have been sent to Brown County District Attorney David Lasee, who is a Republican. The panel for the commission consists of three Democrats and three Republicans, but the majority went against Musk.

In addition to the three $1 million checks, Musk offered $100 to voters who signed the petition against “activist judges” or referred someone who signed it.

At the time of the election, Wisconsin’s attorney general had attempted to sue Musk to stop the checks, but the attempt was rejected by state courts. At the time, Musk’s attorneys argued that the payments are "intended to generate a grassroots movement in opposition to activist judges, not to expressly advocate for or against any candidate.”