In a head-turning move as we head down the stretch of the 2024 presidential election, the Elon Musk-financed America PAC announced it will start paying $47 to anyone who refers a registered, swing-state voter to sign a petition embracing free speech and gun rights. With no limit on the number of referrals, the program seemingly offers individuals the chance to rack up hundreds of dollars in bounties with little effort. 

“Our goal is to get 1 million registered voters in swing states to sign in support of the Constitution, especially freedom of speech and the right to bear arms,” America PAC states on the petition page. “This program is exclusively open to registered voters in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin and North Carolina.”  

For every person you refer who is a swing state voter, you get $47! Easy money. https://t.co/5jCNuXIaui

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 7, 2024

The program seemingly has two complementary aims:

Building a list of registered voters to be used in get-out-the-vote initiatives for Donald Trump
Indirectly incentivizing voter registration among conservative-leaning swing-state residents — by paying people who may encourage others to register to vote so they can sign the petition

Importantly, that registration-motivation element is roundabout. It’s against federal election law to pay someone to register to vote or to vote, but the America PAC program merely pays people for referring registered voters to sign a petition. Nonetheless, some are struggling to grasp that rather glaring distinction: 

Musk is now advertising paying voters $47 for a shady data grab / voter registration scheme in swing states.

How is this even legal? pic.twitter.com/wdsL3gEppb

— Tobi (@TobiFrenzen) October 6, 2024

Signing the petition requires providing your name, email address, mailing address and cell phone number. The online form says the phone number “will only be used to confirm you are the legitimate petition signer. No other purpose.” There’s also a place to provide the email address or phone number of the person who referred you to the petition. The page cautions that “before payment is made, America PAC will verify the accuracy of all information of the referrer and referee.”

The petition‘s language is almost comically brief, merely stating “the First and Second Amendments guarantee freedom of speech and the right to bear arms. By signing below, I am pledging my support for the First and Second Amendments.” While the language is naturally meant to appeal to conservatives, there’s apparently nothing to stop Democrats from signing the petition, diluting the voter list and scoring some cash along the way. Some are already looking to exploit that angle: 

Musk’s Super Pac is paying $47 to anyone who refers people in swing states to sign up.

I urge Harris supporters to sign up. We, unlike Trump, don’t want to “suspend the Constitution”.

All money earned from referrals will be donated to a Harris Super Pac.

Use Email… https://t.co/wTYIulFfbD

— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) October 6, 2024

According to Forbes, Musk is the world’s richest person, with an Oct 1-estimated net worth of $270.5 billion. Though he’d previously voted for Barack Obama and once said “I get involved in politics as little as possible,” Musk has become an ardent backer of Trump’s reelection campaign, and scathing critic of leftist ideology and tactics. On Saturday, he joined Trump onstage at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, at the very site where Trump was shot in the ear by a would-be assassin. 

The America PAC was launched in May to focus on voter registration and turnout — to include encouraging mail-in balloting. While the Wall Street Journal‘s sources said Musk had committed to contributing $45 million a month to America PAC, he denied the report, calling it “a fiction made up by the Wall Street Journal.” The Journal reported that other donors include Palantir Technologies co-founder Joe Lonsdale and the Winklevoss twins.  

Voter registration windows are starting to close. Here are the registration deadlines in the swing states (you can see the details on any state’s deadlines here): 

Arizona: Monday, Oct 7
Georgia: Monday, Oct 7
Michigan: Monday, Oct 21 (in-person registration allowed through Election Day)
Nevada: Wednesday Oct 23 (in-person registration allowed through Election Day)
North Carolina: Friday, Oct 11 (in-person registration allowed during early voting period)
Pennsylvania: Monday, Oct 21
Wisconsin: Wednesday, Oct 16 (in-person registration allowed through Election Day)