In Wisconsin, an Elon Musk-backed super PAC is offering registered voters $100 in exchange for their contact information and signatures on a petition condemning “activist judges.” Signers can receive another $100 for additional voters they refer to the petition. The scheme was launched less than two weeks before a state Supreme Court election that could shift the partisan balance of Wisconsin’s highest court.
“By signing below,” the petition from America PAC states, “I’m rejecting the actions of activist judges who impose their own views and demanding a judiciary that respects its role — interpreting, not legislating.”
The billionaire first showed interest in the race in January, several days after his electric vehicle company, Tesla, sued the state of Wisconsin over a law preventing car manufacturers from owning dealerships. Although the suit was filed in a lower court, the state Supreme Court could ultimately decide the case.
Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel, the conservative candidate supported by Musk, will face Dane County Judge Susan Crawford in the April 1 contest. So far, America PAC and Building America's Future, a Musk-backed nonprofit, have spent $20 million combined in support of Schimel.
America PAC’s program to buy up signatures does not necessarily ensure more votes for Schimel, as the group cannot be sure which candidate — if any — signers of the petition will vote for. But the PAC can use the program to hoover up contact information to email, call, or text voters before election day.
Michael Maistelman, a Wisconsin election lawyer who supports Crawford, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Musk's tactics may violate Wisconsin law. "Wisconsin law prohibits offering anything of value to induce a person to vote, refrain from voting, or take any action related to an election," Maistelman said. "Even though the money isn’t directly tied to voting, it could still be seen as an unlawful incentive related to election activity."
The tactic is similar to one Musk deployed during the 2024 presidential election when he offered voters in swing states a chance to win $1 million in exchange for signing a pro-Trump petition. The Department of Justice warned that Musk's tactics might be illegal, and he was sued in federal court. The sweepstakes, however, were ultimately allowed to proceed.
The terms of the petition state that America PAC will decide which signers are eligible for payments and note that there is no timeframe for the payouts. “Participants should not necessarily expect to receive incentive payments within a month or even two months,” reads the petition’s terms and conditions.
Musk has tied his interest in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race to Donald Trump’s presidential agenda and said that tipping the court’s balance — liberal-aligned justices currently hold a 4-3 majority — would bolster Republican control of the U.S. House.
“Most consequential is that [the election] will decide how congressional districts are drawn in Wisconsin,” Musk said on a Saturday night livestream he co-hosted with Schimel and U.S. Senator Ron Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican. “It could cause the House to switch to Democrat if that redrawing takes place and then we wouldn’t be able to get through the changes that the American people want.” (There are no lawsuits challenging Wisconsin’s congressional map at this time. Although Wisconsin is a closely divided state, six of its eight Congressional districts are currently held by Republicans.)
During the stream, Johnson thanked Trump for his recent endorsement of Schimel and commended Musk’s capacity for political spending. “This is entirely winnable, and you know, if we do win it, again, we have to thank Elon for all the support he's given this race,” Johnson said. “And I was really glad to see President Trump throw in his endorsement as well.”
State Democrats, meanwhile, have sought to turn the race into a referendum on Musk and his U.S. DOGE Service (DOGE), the White House’s pervasive austerity initiative. “We have a chance to demonstrate in this race that his money is politically toxic,” Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Ben Wikler told Politico.
“The People v. Musk” is how Wikler has branded his party’s anti-Schimel campaign, with that slogan leading ads and town halls that characterize the Wisconsin Supreme Court race as part of a broader struggle against DOGE. “Elon Musk is out of control,” one ad from the Wisconsin Democrats states, citing the DOGE-led disruptions at the Social Security Administration and layoffs of air travel safety personnel. “And now the power-hungry billionaire is unloading millions to buy the Wisconsin Supreme Court. He knows corrupt politician Brad Schimel is for sale and will abolish the checks and balances that protect us.”
Recent polls from Fox News, Quinnipiac, and NBC News have shown that a majority of Americans disapprove of Musk’s handling of DOGE. Still, America PAC has opted to explicitly link Schimel to the billionaire in its messaging. “I am with America PAC, an organization run by Elon Musk,” begins a script that canvassers from America PAC are meant to recite to Wisconsin voters, according to a New York Times report.
“Can President Trump and Elon Musk count on you to vote for Brad Schimel?” reads a closing line from the script.
Musk is also exploring intervening in other state and local races. The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk's top political aide, Chris Young, was involved in discussions on "how Musk’s America PAC could help turn Nevada’s seven-seat Clark County Commission Republican and shape the political landscape in Nevada." Switching the political allegiances of the Clark County government could also benefit Musk's tunneling business, Boring, which has "recently clashed with officials in Clark County." Clark County is responsible for granting permits for Boring's Vegas Loop. Although the county government has been supportive of the project, it has been insisting on additional fire safety measures, which means "construction is moving more slowly than Boring would wish."
Typical of third world tactics. This could have come straight from the book of Maduro
We have to stop them!! It has already gone way too far!! We have to save our country NOW!!