Latest news with #WisconsinDemocracyCampaign
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Wisconsin group sues Elon Musk, alleging million-dollar check giveaways were voter bribes
A Wisconsin watchdog group has filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk claiming that he unlawfully bribed voters with million-dollar checks and $100 giveaways in the state's latest Supreme Court election. Wisconsin Democracy Campaign — a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that investigates election transparency — along with two Wisconsin voters, filed the suit against Musk, his super PAC America PAC and another Musk-owned entity called the United States of America Inc. In the suit, the plaintiffs claimed that Musk and his entities violated state laws that prohibit vote bribery and unauthorized lotteries. It also accuses Musk of conducting civil conspiracy and acting as a public nuisance. Musk and America PAC did not respond to a request for comment. 'In the context of an election for Wisconsin's highest court, election bribery—providing more than $1 to induce electors (that is, voters) to vote— undermines voters' faith in the validity of the electoral system and the independence of the judiciary,' the suit reads. The complaint alleges that Musk violated state laws in giving away $100 to voters who signed a petition 'in opposition to activist judges' and handing out million-dollar checks to those who signed the petition. The suit says that those who had won the checks had voted for candidate Brad Schimel. At a town hall in Green Bay, Musk gave away million-dollar checks to two people, both of whom the suit claims voted for Schimel. In a video America PAC posted on X, one of the winners said he had voted for Schimel and encouraged others to do the same. 'Everyone needs to do what I just did, sign the petition, refer your friends, and go out to vote for Brad Schimel,' the winner, Nicholas Jacobs, said in the video. The suit mentions that Musk had said the $1 million awards would be given 'in appreciation' for those 'taking the time to vote.' Despite Musk's America PAC spending over $12 million on Schimel's campaign, candidate Susan Crawford won the race. Before the race had been called, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul filed a similar lawsuit against Musk over his involvement in the state Supreme Court election, but a county judge declined to immediately hold a hearing. A Pennsylvania judge similarly declined a request to block Musk's million-dollar giveaways in the state. During the presidential election, Musk's America PAC had also given out million-dollar checks to people registered to vote in swing states, which the Justice Department had warned could be illegal. Musk defended his giveaways during the presidential election despite the allegations of unlawfulness by saying that those who signed the petition weren't given the money as a prize and that chance 'was not involved here.' Those who signed the petition were instead America PAC spokespeople with the 'opportunity to earn' $1 million. 'Make no mistake: an eligible voter's opportunity to earn is not the same thing as a chance to win,' Musk said, according to Reuters. Jeff Mandell, the co-founder of Law Forward — the law firm that filed the suit on behalf of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign — said in an interview with NBC News that this lawsuit has the advantage of additional time. 'The election is over. Some passions have cooled, and we are bringing this in a normal posture, asking the court to go through its normal procedure,' Mandell said. 'We are confident that we'll get a complete and fair adjudication.' The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign's lawsuit also seeks to bar Musk from 'replicating any such unlawful conduct in relation to future Wisconsin elections.' 'Almost everyone who was watching closely or saw what was happening here in Wisconsin in that very tight period was pretty horrified, and would say things like, 'Well, this can't possibly be legal,' or, 'He can't possibly get away with this,'' Mandell said. 'That's really the purpose of this lawsuit, is to make sure that a court does say — in accord with both the law and I think people across the political spectrum's intuition — that this is not legal conduct, this is not consistent with how our democracy works, and to make sure it doesn't happen again.' This article was originally published on
NBC News
11-06-2025
- Politics
- NBC News
Wisconsin group sues Elon Musk, alleging million-dollar check giveaways were voter bribes
A Wisconsin watchdog group has filed a lawsuit against Elon Musk claiming that he unlawfully bribed voters with million dollar checks and $100 giveaways in the state's latest Supreme Court election. Wisconsin Democracy Campaign — a non-partisan, nonprofit organization that investigates election transparency — along with two Wisconsin voters, filed the suit against Musk, his super PAC America PAC, and another Musk-owned entity called the United States of America Inc.. In the suit, the plaintiffs claimed that Musk and his entities violated state laws that prohibit vote bribery and unauthorized lotteries. It also accuses Musk of conducting civil conspiracy and acting as a public nuisance. Musk and America PAC did not respond to a request for comment. 'In the context of an election for Wisconsin's highest court, election bribery—providing more than $1 to induce electors (that is, voters) to vote— undermines voters' faith in the validity of the electoral system and the independence of the judiciary,' the suit reads. The complaint alleges that Musk violated state laws giving away $100 to voters who signed a petition 'in opposition to activist judges' and handing out million dollar checks to those who signed the petition. and The suit says that those who had won the checks had voted for candidate Brad Schimel. At a town hall in Green Bay, Musk gave away million dollar checks to two different people, both of which the suit claims voted for Schimel. In a video America PAC posted on X, one of the winners said he had voted for Schimel and encouraged others to do the same. 'Everyone needs to do what I just did, sign the petition, refer your friends, and go out to vote for Brad Schimel,' the winner, Nicholas Jacobs, said in the video. The suit mentions that Musk had said that the $1 million awards would be given 'in appreciation' for those 'taking the time to vote.' Despite Musk's America PAC spending over $12 million dollars on Schimel's campaign, candidate Susan Crawford still won the race. Before the race had been called, Wisconsin attorney general Josh Kaul filed a similar lawsuit against Musk for his involvement in the state Supreme Court election, but a county judge declined to immediately hold a hearing. A Pennsylvania judge similarly declined a request to block Musk's million-dollar giveaways in the state. During the presidential election, Musk's America PAC had also given out million dollar checks to people registered to vote in swing states, which the Justice Department had warned could be illegal. Musk defended his giveaways during the presidential election despite the allegations of unlawfulness by saying that those who signed the petition weren't given the money as a prize and that chance 'was not involved here.' Those who signed the petition were instead America PAC spokespeople with the 'opportunity to earn' $1 million. 'Make no mistake: an eligible voter's opportunity to earn is not the same thing as a chance to win,' Musk said, according to Reuters. Jeff Mendel, the co-founder of Law Forward — the law firm that filed the suit on behalf of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign — said in an interview with NBC News that this lawsuit has the advantage of additional time. 'The election is over. Some passions have cooled, and we are bringing this in a normal posture, asking the court to go through its normal procedure,' Mendel said. 'We are confident that we'll get a complete and fair adjudication.' The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign's lawsuit also seeks to bar Musk from 'replicating any such unlawful conduct in relation to future Wisconsin elections.' 'Almost everyone who was watching closely or saw what was happening here in Wisconsin in that very tight period was pretty horrified, and would say things like, 'Well, this can't possibly be legal,' or 'he can't possibly get away with this,'' Mendel said. 'That's really the purpose of this lawsuit, is to make sure that a court does say — in accord with both the law and, I think people across the political spectrums intuition — that this is not legal conduct, this is not consistent with how our democracy works, and to make sure it doesn't happen again.'
Washington Post
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Lawsuit accuses Musk of bribing Wisconsin voters with cash prizes
A Wisconsin nonprofit organization focused on fighting for fair elections is filing a legal complaint alleging that billionaire Elon Musk illegally bribed voters by giving out cash prizes this year in his attempt to help conservatives take control of the swing state's Supreme Court. The complaint, provided to The Washington Post by lawyers representing the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign and two Wisconsin voters, claims that Musk, his America PAC and a Musk-linked entity known as United States of America Inc. violated the state's election law in 'a brazen scheme to bribe Wisconsin citizens to vote.'
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
After record-breaking spending in April, Wis. Democracy Campaign says voters want reform
A Wisconsin Democracy Campaign poll finds nearly 90% of voters say they're concerned about the influence of money in politics. (Getty Images) After an April election that broke national records for spending, Wisconsin voters are eager to see measures to rein in money in politics, a campaign finance watchdog group leader said Monday. 'It is an environment where billionaires are running the show and everyday people like you and me are here watching,' said Nick Ramos, executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. 'We will continue to see unprecedented spending unless something changes from our Legislature and our lawmakers.' The numbers that the organization posted Monday haven't yet pierced the predicted $100 million threshold in the Supreme Court race, but final data won't be compiled until the end of June. The Democracy Campaign focuses on the money actually spent, as distinct from what was raised or what was budgeted, said research director Sam DeForest-Davis. As of Monday morning, the campaign for Judge Susan Crawford, who won the Court race, spent $22 million compared with the campaign for Judge Brad Schimel, which spent just under $10 million. While the campaigns spent a combined $32 million, independent groups supporting the campaigns spent a combined $51 million. Schimel was the larger beneficiary of independent spending, with $33.5 million in his favor or opposing Crawford. Independent spending that favored Crawford or opposed Schimel totaled $18 million. In the race for state superintendent, the two candidates' campaigns — for incumbent Jill Underly, who won, and for her challenger, Brittany Kinser — were just about even in their spending, with $1.3 million for Underly and $1.1 million for Kinser. Independent spending, however, heavily favored Underly at $1.9 million. Independent spending for Kinser totaled $160,000. Research director DeForest-Davis said the organization will have a final report in July on spending data, including spending on issue ads that don't include explicit messages to vote for or against a candidate but are slanted to clearly favor one or the other. That information won't be available until the end of June. Along with the campaign finance data released Monday, the Democracy Campaign released results from an opinion poll of Wisconsin voters on campaign finance. The survey, of 861 voters conducted from Feb. 11-14, found that 88% of participants were 'very concerned' or 'extremely concerned' about the influence of money in politics. 'I have a hard time thinking of an issue that has this kind of universal feedback across the state,' Ramos said. 'After seeing the gaudy amount of money that was spent in this Supreme Court race, I can only imagine that this number and this percentage are going to increase.' Nearly as many — more than 85% — said 'no' when asked if individuals or groups should be able to spend 'unlimited amounts of money' to support political campaigns. And 83% said there should be limits on how much campaigns can spend. Nearly 74% said they would support a ban on campaign spending 'by outside political action committees (PACs) that are not directly affiliated with a candidate's campaign.' About 53% ranked spending by 'dark money PACS who do not have to disclose their donors' as their greatest concern where the influence of money on politics is concerned. Another question showed that so far publicly financed campaigns haven't gained support from a majority of voters. Almost 47% said they would 'strongly' or 'somewhat' support such a proposal. Just under 30% said they would 'somewhat' or 'strongly' oppose public financing, while 23.5% said they were unsure. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Democrats' win in Wisconsin court race marks big loss for Elon Musk
The Democrats' victory in the Wisconsin supreme court race marks a big loss for Elon Musk. The billionaire supporter of President Donald Trump and his affiliated groups spent more than 21 million dollars (£16.2 million) supporting the conservative candidate with the aim of breaking the liberals' 4-3 majority on the court. Mr Musk also paid three individual voters one million dollars (£773,000) each for signing a petition in an effort to boost turnout in the pivotal battleground state contest. But Judge Susan Crawford won comfortably, preserving the liberals' narrow majority. She and the Democrats had focused their campaign on Mr Musk's spending. The election was the first test of Mr Musk's political impact since he skyrocketed in prominence by launching a controversial effort to slash the US federal government in Mr Trump's administration. Judge Crawford defeated conservative candidate Brad Schimel in the contest. The Democrats had contended Mr Musk was 'buying' the election, which set records for the costliest judicial race in history. The long con of the left is corruption of the judiciary — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 2, 2025 Judge Crawford said in her victory speech: 'Today, Wisconsinites fended off an unprecedented attack on our democracy, our fair elections and our supreme court. 'And Wisconsin stood up and said loudly that justice does not have a price, our courts are not for sale.' Mr Trump endorsed Mr Schimel as the race turned into a proxy fight over national political issues. The state's high court can rule on cases involving voting rights and redistricting in a state likely to be at the centre of both next year's mid-term elections and the 2028 presidential contest. But Mr Musk's involvement dialled those dynamics up, saying on his X platform: 'A seemingly small election could determine the fate of Western civilization. 'I think it matters for the future of the world.' Please send @elonmusk to all the close races! — Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) April 2, 2025 Notably, America PAC (Political Action Committee), the super PAC backed by Mr Musk, spent at least six million dollars (£4.6 million) on vendors who sent door-to-door canvassers across the state, according to the non-partisan Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. This was similar to what the group did across the seven most competitive presidential battleground states, including Wisconsin, which were carried by Mr Trump in November. But the end results this time were not good for Mr Musk. Despite the millions he spent on Mr Schimel, as of late Tuesday night the supreme court candidate was losing by four percentage points more than the other Republican-backed state-wide candidate, Brittany Kinser, who also fell short in her bid to become superintendent of public instruction. Mr Musk's court race defeat was not only because of crushing Democratic margins in deep blue cities like Madison and Milwaukee. Judge Crawford's margins were higher in places where the Musk-backed group America PAC had been active, including Sauk County, just north of Madison, which the Democrat was carrying by 10 points after Mr Trump won it by less than two points in November. In Brown County, the home of Green Bay, where Mr Musk headlined a campaign rally with 2,000 people on Sunday, Judge Crawford beat Mr Schimel. Mr Trump won the county by seven percentage points last year. Overnight, Mr Musk posted on his X platform that 'The long con of the left is corruption of the judiciary'. In another comment, he seemed to take solace from voters' approval to elevate the state's photo ID requirement from state law to constitutional amendment. The platform was rife with criticism from Mr Trump's opponents for his involvement in the race. 'Please send @elonmusk to all the close races!' Jon Favreau, former speechwriter for President Barack Obama, wrote. 'Elon Musk is not good at this,' JB Pritzker, Illinois' Democratic governor and a billionaire himself who donated to support Judge Crawford, posted on X. Democrats were happy to make Mr Musk a lightning rod in the race. 'People do not want to see Elon Musk buying election after election after election,' Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler said on Monday. 'If it works here, he's going to do it all over the country.'
