Ahead of Wisconsin Supreme Court election, Elon Musk PAC offers cash for pledge

Less than two weeks out from Wisconsin’s high stakes Supreme Court election, Elon Musk’s political action committee is offering voters $100 if they sign a petition opposing “activist judges.”

The petition is hosted by Musk’s America PAC, which has spent millions to date backing conservative candidate Brad Schimel, a Waukesha County judge who is facing off against liberal candidate Susan Crawford, a Dane County judge. The race has already become the most expensive judicial contest in U.S. history.

The petition does not name Schimel or any other candidate. Instead, it says it is for voters to reject “the actions of activist judges who impose their own views and demanding a judiciary that respects its role—interpreting, not legislating.”

That framing raises questions about compliance with Wisconsin state law, which states that a person cannot be offered anything of value in exchange for voting or not voting, said Nick Ramos, executive director of the campaign finance watchdog Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.

“It’s troubling,” Ramos said. “It taints just how our democracy is supposed to look. It shouldn’t be any pay-to-play, or it shouldn’t be a scenario where people feel like, basically, you can buy me with $100.”

A spokesperson for the Schimel campaign did not immediately respond to WPR’s request for comment.

Groups affiliated with Musk — including America PAC and the Building America’s Future PAC — have spent an estimated $14 million so far in the highly contested race, which will determine ideological control of Wisconsin’s highest court.

The Crawford campaign has been highly critical of Musk’s role in the campaign, arguing that he’s trying to curry favor at a time that a lawsuit affecting one of his companies, Tesla, is winding through state court. Crawford’s campaign has also pointed to mailings from Musk-backed groups directly linking Schimel to support for President Donald Trump’s political agenda.

Schimel has defended previous support from Musk, saying it would be illegal for his campaign to coordinate with outside groups. At a recent debate between the two candidates, Schimel said he didn’t solicit that support.  

“They’ve made this decision on their own to support my campaign, and they’ve decided what their messaging looks like without any assistance from me,” he said.

A legal gray area — and a ‘creative spender of money’

Paying people to sign a petition is unusual, said University of Wisconsin-Madison elections expert Barry Burden.

But it’s not the first time Musk has done direct cash giveaways for political statements. In 2024, he gave away millions to sweepstakes participants from swing states who pledged to support the First and Second amendments.

A man from Eau Claire was among the reported winners of the contest, which the U.S. Department of Justice warned at the time may have violated federal election law, but which Musk defended, saying they did not require people to register with any particular party or even to cast a ballot.

Musk is “a very creative spender of money. He is finding ways to use his wealth to influence politics in ways that haven’t been done before,” Burden said.

The petition this time around likewise does not require voter participation, but signers must be registered Wisconsin voters.

That may amount to essentially paying voters to register, which is not prohibited under state law, Burden said.

“He’s skirting the lines of what’s legal,” Burden said. “But he’s an innovator in the tech world. He’s an innovator in the political world, moving fast and breaking things there, as well.”

Michael Maistelman, a Milwaukee-based elections lawyer who has represented Democratic Party clients in the past, thinks Musk’s actions are more clearly illegal.

“You can’t give money to a person if your intentions are to get them to the polls to vote,” he said. “If he’s just going to say he wants people to sign a petition, well, why all of a sudden before the election?”

Maistelman pointed out that some Musk-backed campaign materials have described Crawford as an “activist.” That language is reflected in the petition, he said, making it clear how signers are supposed to vote.

“The people that would sign that would probably be the ones who he wants to vote, right?” he said. “I think everybody knows what he’s up to.”

Maistelman said concerned groups would be able to file a complaint or lawsuit asking for a cease-and-desist. Ramos, of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, said his group is exploring exactly that.

“It’s a scenario where a PAC is trying to essentially bribe people to be involved in this process,” he said. “I’m hopeful that we can be able to address it head-on, and whether that’s through complaints or whether that’s through litigation, we need to be able to rein in these types of efforts.”