Wisconsin Voters Can Receive $100 from Musk-Affiliated Group Ahead of Supreme Court Election

A group funded by billionaire Elon Musk is incentivizing Wisconsin voters with $100 to sign a petition opposing “activist judges.” This initiative comes just two weeks prior to the state’s Supreme Court election and follows a similar proposal made by the political action committee in key battleground states last year.

Musk’s political action committee, America PAC, announced the petition in a post on X on Thursday evening. They are offering $100 for each Wisconsin voter who signs the petition, along with an additional $100 for every signer they refer.

The campaign for Susan Crawford, the Democratic candidate for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, accused Musk of attempting to purchase votes ahead of the April 1 election. This offer was made just two days after early voting commenced in the highly competitive race between Crawford and Brad Schimel, who is favored by Musk and the Republican party.

The outcome of this election will determine whether the court continues to be under liberal control or shifts to a conservative majority.

Musk’s PAC previously employed a similar strategy before the November presidential election, proposing to pay $1 million daily to voters in Wisconsin and six other battleground states who signed a petition in support of the First and Second Amendments.

In Philadelphia, the district attorney filed a lawsuit to halt these payments under Pennsylvania law. However, a judge ruled that prosecutors did not demonstrate that the initiative constituted an illegal lottery, allowing it to proceed until Election Day.

America PAC and Building for America’s Future, two organizations backed by Musk, have invested over $13 million in efforts to support Schimel’s election, as reported by the Brennan Center for Justice. The outcome of this race will influence whether conservative or liberal justices dominate the court, with significant issues at stake, including abortion rights, public sector unions, voting regulations, and congressional districting.

Derrick Honeyman, a spokesperson for the Crawford campaign, accused Musk of attempting to “trying to buy a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court to secure a favorable ruling in his company’s lawsuit against the state.”

Just days prior to Musk’s groups beginning their financial support for the Supreme Court campaign, Tesla, the electric vehicle company he leads, filed a lawsuit against Wisconsin for denying it the ability to establish dealerships. Tesla’s case may eventually reach the Supreme Court.

“Very important to vote Republican for the Wisconsin Supreme Court to prevent voting fraud,” Musk stated on X, only eight days before the lawsuit was initiated in January.

Andrew Romeo, a representative for America PAC, referenced Musk’s post on X regarding the petition when asked for comments on Friday. A representative for Schimel’s campaign did not respond immediately to an email requesting a statement.

Crawford and her supporters have made it a central part of their campaign to associate Schimel with Musk. This week, the Wisconsin Democratic Party launched a new advertisement accusing Musk of attempting to buy the seat for Schimel, a close ally of Trump.

Earlier this week, Schimel campaigned alongside Donald Trump Jr., who emphasized that electing Schimel is vital for safeguarding Trump’s agenda. America PAC has also been promoting this message through flyers distributed to voters in Wisconsin.

Musk’s other organization, Building America’s Future, stated in a memo on Thursday that to defeat Crawford, it must “present Schimel as a pro-Trump conservative.”

The new petition says that “Judges should interpret laws as written, not rewrite them to fit their personal or political agendas. By signing below, 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 petition, which claims that “activist” judges are illegally working against President Donald Trump, is in line with his goals even though its goal is to gather information about Wisconsin voters and motivate them. In connection with Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency initiative to reduce the federal bureaucracy, the Trump administration is facing multiple legal challenges.