Two Wisconsin voters received million dollar checks on March 31, 2025 from Elon Musk while he offers more to those who sign initiatives aligned with his political motives.
In October 2024, Musk, along with his super PAC, America PAC, promised $1 million each day to someone who signs his online petition supporting the First and Second Amendments, according to Reuters. In March, Musk continued the plan by extending his efforts to Wisconsin to support Supreme Court Judge Brad Schimel and has now spent a total of $20 million on his attempts. According to TIME, Musk has called this race critical to the “future of civilization,” indicating his influence if Schimel were to win.
However, the legal standpoint of these checks has recently come into play as lawsuits have been filed. As explained by AP News, Wisconsin’s Democratic Attorney General, Josh Kaul filed a lawsuit before the rallies in the country’s circuit court to stop Musk from making these exchanges. Kaul referenced the fact that any payment to secure votes was a clear violation of state law. However, his effort was blocked by two lower courts and the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which declined to take the case.
A federal lawsuit was also filed by a Pennsylvania man, according to USA Today. He claims that Elon Musk and his America PAC organization still owe millions of dollars to previous signers of petitions from last year’s election, when a similar process occurred. The man also explained they were promised $100 if they signed a petition for gun rights, and an additional hundred for every other they were able to get to sign. The man’s attorney, Shannon Liss-Riordan, described the situation as a “broken promise,” symbolizing the lack of transparency and trust.
Running against Schimel in this race is Susan Crawford, a Democrat-backed judge. Both aim to serve on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, yet only one can secure the position. According to CBS, On April 1, polls closed for the election and it soon became clear that Crawford would become the next judge by a margin of 184,000 votes. Despite help from both Musk and Trump taking large part in national politics and spending millions on the race, Crawford has created a 4-3 majority of liberals, and the court plans to discuss issues such as abortion rights, congressional redistricting, union power and voting—changing the course of our nation.
