President Donald Trump listens as Elon Musk speaks in the Oval Office at the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025, in Washington. (Photo from the Associated Press)
WASHINGTON, United States — Tech billionaire and Donald Trump ally Elon Musk promoted a cash giveaway Thursday for Wisconsin voters who sign a petition against “activist judges,” days before a key election for the US state’s supreme court.
The move comes as Trump demands that courts across the nation stop blocking his agenda. Judges in recent weeks have delayed efforts by his administration to overhaul the federal government through Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency.
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America PAC, a pro-Trump political action committee established and largely funded by Musk, said it would give $100 to Wisconsin voters who sign the “petition in opposition to activist judges.”
The petition, which Musk reposted on his social media platform X, urges Wisconsin voters to sign by April 1, when the northern state elects a judge for its supreme court.
America PAC has thrown its weight behind conservative candidate Brad Schimel for the crucial seat in Wisconsin’s top court.
“Judges should interpret laws as written, not rewrite them to fit their personal or political agendas,” it wrote on X. “Wisconsin registered voters receive $100 for signing the petition & $100 for each signer they refer.”
During the 2024 presidential race, America PAC launched a daily $1 million lottery prize for random petition signatories in election battleground states.
The Justice Department under then-president Joe Biden warned Musk and America PAC in October that the sweepstakes may violate federal law, which prohibits paying people to register to vote.
The Wisconsin petition comes after Trump launched a scathing attack Tuesday on a judge who suggested his administration had ignored an order to block the deportation of alleged illegal migrants to El Salvador.
Trump personally called for the impeachment of District Judge James Boasberg, calling him “a troublemaker and agitator” in remarks that drew a rare public rebuke of a sitting president from the US Supreme Court chief.
In the Wisconsin vote, the Republican-backed Schimel is facing off against Susan Crawford, who is backed by Democrats.
“Elon Musk is trying to buy a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court to secure a favorable ruling in his company’s lawsuit against the state,” Crawford’s campaign said in a statement.
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Musk’s electric car company Tesla is challenging Wisconsin’s refusal to grant it an exception to a rule that prohibits automakers from also owning dealerships. The case could end up before the state’s supreme court.
“Brad Schimel has spent his career looking out for wealthy special interests and campaign donors, and Musk wants a justice who will rule in his favor to help his own bottom line,” said Derrick Honeyman, spokesman for Crawford’s campaign.