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Elon Musk Contemplates the wreckage of Starship SN8. Photo by Steve Jurvetson. Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
"The First and Second Amendments guarantee freedom of speech and the right to bear arms," reads a petition circulated by Elon Musk's America PAC. "By signing below, I am pledging my support for the First and Second Amendments."
While pledging support for key elements of the US Constitution might seem non-controversial to most, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner took Musk to court over the petition, claiming that awarding prizes of $1 million to randomly selected signers who are also registered voters constitutes an "illegal lottery scheme to influence voters."
A judge put Krasner's case on hold, on Halloween, when Musk's attorneys attempted to move the matter to federal court. We're probably not going to see any real movement on the legal aspects until after the election.
It's true that Elon Musk supports a particular presidential candidate (Donald Trump).
It's true that Musk's PAC has been doing "ground game" canvassing work on behalf of Trump's campaign in Pennsylvania and other swing states.
It's clear that Musk hopes the giveaway and the attention it draws will help Trump.
But, let's be clear here:
The million dollar prizes aren't contingent on the recipient voting for Trump --- or for that matter, voting at all.
The petition signature required for entry doesn't mention Trump, It doesn't mention the presidential election. It doesn't even mention voting.
The process for entering the drawing, and potentially winning a prize, is a lot more like a "sweepstakes" than a "lottery."
A lottery or raffle generally involves a material consideration: The participant must purchase something to have a chance of winning.
A sweepstakes only requires the participant to provide some information (mostly for determining eligibility, delivering prizes to the correct addresses, and facilitating future contact).
Yes, in THIS case, that information includes a pledge that participants support the First and Second Amendments. But there's no deliverable consideration. No vote. No donation. No shift as a campaign door-knocker.
If I give lifetime supplies of ice cream to random members of a group who sign statements saying they like ice cream, am I running a lottery? They're free to lie. I'm not making them buy, or eat, ice cream. I'm just giving away money to people who say they like ice cream.
If Musk's scheme is an "illegal lottery," so is every voter registration drive and "get out the vote" event that hands out random merch.
Krasner clearly doesn't support the First Amendment.