this post was submitted on 21 Oct 2024
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Politics

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Gov. Shapiro calls Musk's $1M offer to Pennsylvania voters 'deeply concerning' (www.npr.org)
submitted 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) by dandelion@lemmy.blahaj.zone to c/politics@beehaw.org
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Musk announced the $1 million giveaway at an event in Harrisburg, Pa., on Saturday. The event was part of a tour supporting Trump.

“I have a surprise for you," Musk said shortly before bringing out a giant check. "We are going to be awarding $1 million to people who have signed the petition — every day, from now until the election.”

"If you look at the conditions, you must be a registered voter," Hasen said. "And so this is essentially a lottery that's open only to people who register to vote. So it’s either an incentive for someone to vote or it’s a reward. And either way, it violates federal law."

He calls Musk's actions "clearly illegal" because it violates statute 52 U.S.C. 10307(c) and the Department of Justice’s election manual.

Hasen said willful violation of statute 52 U.S.C. 10307(c) comes with a $10,000 fine and up to five years in prison.

"I don't think it would be likely that he would suffer such a serious fine," Hasen said of Musk. "Although, if he was warned that this is illegal activity and continued to do it, I think that would create a different kind of situation."

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[–] dandelion@lemmy.blahaj.zone 14 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

"I don't think it would be likely that he would suffer such a serious fine," Hasen said of Musk. "Although, if he was warned that this is illegal activity and continued to do it, I think that would create a different kind of situation."

[–] Arkham@beehaw.org 13 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (1 children)

Musk: violates a federal law by giving away a cool million every day until election day

Feds: "let's fine that guy $10,000, that seems like a pretty serious amount for a fine"

[–] dandelion@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

If the consequence of violating a law is a fine, that law is essentially optional for the rich; if the consequences of violating a law is prison time, but the penalties can be avoided through (expensive) legal protection, those laws are also optional for the rich. The rich are hard to prosecute under the law, so it's not surprising when the law is primarily enforced on the rest of us (esp. on the most vulnerable of us).

An easy example: the IRS audits the poor much more than the wealthy, partially because their attempts to target the wealthy was met with legal difficulties.

[–] Rhaedas@fedia.io 6 points 3 weeks ago (3 children)

So...he's been officially warned to stop, right?

[–] sunzu2@thebrainbin.org 3 points 3 weeks ago

Take a guess 🤡

[–] dandelion@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 2 weeks ago

Looks like the DOJ did send a letter:

https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/elon-musk-doj-letter-paying-people-to-vote-is-a-crime

In a letter sent days after he announced the sweepstakes, Robert Heberle, the head of the DOJ’s election crimes branch, told Musk that offering anything of monetary value to influence voters violates federal law. ... The letter reportedly “did not specify any immediate legal action” but “did spell out the penalties for breaking US voting laws, including possible imprisonment of up to five years.”

[–] sunzu2@thebrainbin.org 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

I think that would create a different kind of situation.

No prosecutor will touch this... Yall are fucking naive. Jfc how much mote info do you need.

Musk is one of the OG oligarchs, he do anything he wants and we will pay him more for it.

Grow the fuck up and see the world for what it is.

[–] Gaywallet@beehaw.org 16 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

You're welcome to disagree (I also don't think Musk will be prosecuted for this), but you're not treating others with good faith when you tell them to grow the fuck up and see the world for what it is - that's an insult between the lines here. This is your reminder to be(e) nice on our instance.

[–] sunzu2@thebrainbin.org 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

These "rules" only seem to be an issue on "politics" subs...

Hmmm...

I calling on people to level up their understanding of the regime is "not nice"

Also, this was deff good faith position lol

[–] Gaywallet@beehaw.org 17 points 3 weeks ago

These issues happen in other communities as well, violations just seem to happen more often in politics than anywhere else, probably because of the charged nature of politics and the increasingly polarized environment.

I wasn't reflecting upon the faith of the position. What was bad faith was your assumption that the other person was ignorant of the way the world works. There are countless other possible explanations for this person was merely quoting the article as a response to someone being excited that Musk might get prosecuted for doing something that arguably should be illegal and he should be punished for. It's also not a good look that you're going around replying to people with a short response which includes a clown emoji that adds nothing to a conversation or the fact that you're immediately questioning a moderator rather than reflecting upon your behavior and approaching the suggestion from a place of good faith. I wouldn't be stepping in and having a conversation with you if I didn't think this kind of behavior was harmful for the community in some fashion. Keep in mind, I didn't remove your content or ban you, I simply started a conversation because I want this community and our instance to continue to be a nice place.