Elon Musk loses bid to move case over $1 million voter awards

A US judge on Friday rejected Elon Musk’s request to move a Pennsylvania lawsuit over his $1 million voter bonuses to federal court, moving the case back to state court.

It was not immediately clear whether the decision would affect the billionaire’s plan to continue giving money until Tuesday’s US presidential election.

The decision was issued by US District Judge Gerald Papert in federal court in Philadelphia.

Musk gave $1 million checks to randomly chosen registered voters who sign a petition supporting free speech and gun rights.

Musk’s America PAC awarded $1 million in prizes to 14 people on Friday and said the final prize would be awarded on Tuesday.

Democratic Philadelphia Attorney General Lawrence Krasner sued Musk and his political action committee, which supports former Republican President Donald Trump, on Oct. 28 in state court to try to block the donation. Krasner called the program an illegal lottery.

Two days later, Tesla CEO Musk and his America PAC tried to take her to federal court, arguing that Krasner’s lawsuit raised questions about the right to free speech and election interference that belong to the federal court. That prompted the state judge overseeing the case to suspend it.

Arguing that the case belongs in state court, Krasner called Musk’s maneuver an attempt to “run down the clock until Election Day.” Krasner did not claim the donation violated federal law.

Philadelphia is the largest city in Pennsylvania, one of seven battleground states that could determine the outcome of the race between Trump and his Democratic opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris.

Musk’s offer is limited to registered voters in the seven states expected to decide the election — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Musk gave the first million dollars at an America PAC rally on Oct. 19 in Harrisburg, the Pennsylvania state capital.

The offer falls into a gray area of ​​election law, and legal experts are divided on whether Musk could violate federal laws against paying people to register to vote.

The US Department of Justice warned America PAC that the donation could violate federal law, according to media reports, but federal prosecutors took no public action.

Musk has given nearly $120 million to America PAC so far, according to federal disclosures.