Monday, the eve of Election Day 2024, has brought with it plenty of election decisions from the courts. This includes an election integrity victory for the RNC out of Georgia. A Pennsylvania judge also rejected a lawsuit brought by Philadelphia District District Attorney Larry Krasner, who was claiming that a $1 million a day for voters in key swing states from Elon Musk's PAC was an "illegal lottery." The giveaway can thus continue, with Monday's winner coming from Arizona and Tuesday's winner from Michigan.
Arguments from Musk's attorney, Chris Gober, put to bed the arguments that the giveaway had to do with an "illegal lottery," since it wasn't actually a lottery system. Common Pleas Court Judge Angelo Foglietta made his decision on Monday, without an explanation.
As the Associated Press reported:
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The $1 million-a-day voter sweepstakes that Elon Musk ‘s political action committee is hosting in swing states can continue through Tuesday’s presidential election, a Pennsylvania judge ruled Monday.
Common Pleas Court Judge Angelo Foglietta — ruling after Musk’s lawyers said the winners are paid spokespeople and not chosen by chance — did not immediately explain his reasoning.
District Attorney Larry Krasner, a Democrat, had called the process a scam “designed to actually influence a national election” and asked that it be shut down.
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Chris Young, the director and treasurer of America PAC, testified that the recipients are vetted ahead of time, to “feel out their personality, (and) make sure they were someone whose values aligned” with the group.
Musk’s lawyers, defending the effort, called it “core political speech” given that participants sign a petition endorsing the U.S. Constitution. They also said Krasner’s bid to shut it down under Pennsylvania law was moot because there would be no more Pennsylvania winners before the program ends Tuesday.
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Lawyers for Musk and the PAC said they do not plan to extend the lottery beyond Tuesday. Krasner said the first three winners, starting on Oct. 19, came from Pennsylvania in the days leading up to the state’s Oct. 21 voter registration deadline.
Other winners came from the battleground states of Wisconsin, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina and Michigan. It’s not clear if anyone has yet received the money. The PAC pledged they would get it by Nov. 30, according to an exhibit shown in court.
Musk has been a key figure in helping former and potentially future President Donald Trump's campaign. Musk has appeared with Trump and other key speakers before, including last month in Butler, Pennsylvania. He also announced such an initiative during a rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania that same month.
Krasner does not appear to be deterred by such a decision, though, as he's also said he's considering criminal charges, the report noted, showing a curious sense of priorities. Krasner, a soft on crime progressive DA backed by George Soros, has gone after Republicans before, including when it comes to being confronted with the city's crime rates.
The giveaway earned strong reactions from Pennsylvania Democrats, and not merely Krasner. Gov. Josh Shapiro had also said he wanted law enforcement to "take a look at" such a giveaway.
"Elon Musk's $1" has been a trending topic over X for Monday night.
Pennsylvania remains in the news beyond such a decision, as the Harris-Walz campaign is reminding that the commonwealth, a key swing state, could take days to announce the results. Pennsylvania looks to be the most critical swing state, especially since it carries with it the most electoral votes, 19 of them, of any of the seven swing states.
RealClearPolling has Trump up by +0.3 over Vice President Kamala Harris in Pennsylvania, while 538 has them even at 47.8 percent each. Nate Silver's forecast for Monday has Trump with that same slight edge of +0.3. This is a +0.2 in favor of Democrats from last week, but a +1.5 in favor of Republicans since last month.
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