Musk group offers $100 to Wisconsin voters ahead of pivotal state Supreme Court election

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A radical funded by billionaire Elon Musk is offering Wisconsin voters $100 to motion a petition successful absorption to “activist judges,” a determination that comes 2 weeks earlier the state’s Supreme Court predetermination and aft the governmental enactment committee made a akin connection past twelvemonth successful battleground states.

Musk’s governmental enactment committee America PAC announced the petition successful a station connected X connected Thursday night. It promises $100 for each Wisconsin elector who signs the petition and different $100 for each signer they refer.

The run for Susan Crawford, the Democratic-backed campaigner for Wisconsin Supreme Court, said Musk was trying to bargain votes up of the April 1 election. The connection was made 2 days aft aboriginal voting started successful the hotly contested contention betwixt Crawford and Brad Schimel, the preferred campaigner of Musk and Republicans.

The victor of the predetermination volition find whether the tribunal remains nether wide power oregon flips to a blimpish majority.

Musk’s PAC utilized a astir identical maneuver up of the November statesmanlike election, offering to wage $1 cardinal a time to voters successful Wisconsin and six different battleground states who signed a petition supporting the First and Second Amendments.

Philadelphia’s territory lawyer sued successful an effort to halt the payments nether Pennsylvania law. But a justice said that prosecutors failed to amusement that the effort was an amerciable lottery and it was allowed to proceed done Election Day.

America PAC and Building for America’s Future, 2 groups Musk funds, person spent much than $13 cardinal trying to assistance elite Schimel, according to a tally by the Brennan Center for Justice. The victor volition find whether blimpish oregon wide justices power the court, with cardinal battles looming implicit abortion, nationalist assemblage unions, voting rules and legislature territory boundaries.

Crawford run spokesperson Derrick Honeyman accused Musk of “trying to bargain a spot connected the Wisconsin Supreme Court to unafraid a favorable ruling successful his company's suit against the state.”

Just days earlier Musk's groups started spending connected the Supreme Court race, electrical car shaper Tesla sued Wisconsin implicit its determination to not let it to unfastened dealerships. Musk is the CEO of Tesla and besides the caput of rocket vessel shaper SpaceX. Tesla's lawsuit could yet travel earlier the Supreme Court.

“Very important to ballot Republican for the Wisconsin Supreme Court to forestall voting fraud," Musk posted connected X, conscionable 8 days earlier the suit was filed successful January.

Andrew Romeo, a spokesperson for America PAC, referred to the station connected X announcing the petition erstwhile asked for remark connected Friday. A spokesperson for Schimel's run did not instantly respond to an email seeking comment.

Crawford and her allies person made linking Schimel with Musk a cardinal plank of their campaign. The Wisconsin Democratic Party released a caller advertisement this week accusing Musk of trying to bargain the spot for Schimel, a adjacent state of Trump's/

Schimel earlier this week campaigned with Donald Trump Jr. astatine an lawsuit wherever the president's lad said electing Schimel was indispensable for protecting Trump's agenda. America PAC has besides been making that statement successful flyers it's handing retired to Wisconsin voters.

Musk's different group, Building America's Future, said successful a memo Thursday that to decision Crawford it indispensable “present Schimel arsenic a pro-Trump conservative.”

The caller petition says that “Judges should construe laws arsenic written, not rewrite them to acceptable their idiosyncratic oregon governmental agendas. By signing below, I’m rejecting the actions of activistic judges who enforce their ain views and demanding a judiciary that respects its relation — interpreting, not legislating.”

The petition, portion designed to cod information connected Wisconsin voters and energize them, is besides successful enactment with President Donald Trump's docket alleging that “activist” judges are illegally moving against him. Trump's medication is embroiled successful respective lawsuits related to Musk's Department of Government Efficiency effort to downsize the national bureaucracy.