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A gaggle funded by billionaire Elon Musk is providing Wisconsin voters $100 to signal a petition in opposition to “activist judges,” a transfer that comes two weeks earlier than the state’s Supreme Court docket election and after the political motion committee made a comparable proposal final 12 months in battleground states.
Musk’s political motion committee America PAC introduced the petition in a publish on X on Thursday evening. It guarantees $100 for every Wisconsin voter who indicators the petition and one other $100 for every signer the voter refers.
The marketing campaign for Susan Crawford, the Democratic-backed candidate for Wisconsin Supreme Court docket, stated Musk was making an attempt to purchase votes forward of the April 1 election. The supply was made two days after early voting began within the hotly contested race between Crawford and Brad Schimel, the popular candidate of Musk and Republicans.
The winner of the election will decide whether or not the court docket stays beneath liberal management or flips to a conservative majority.
Musk’s PAC used a virtually an identical tactic forward of the November presidential election, providing to pay $1 million a day to voters in Wisconsin and 6 different battleground states who signed a petition supporting the First and Second Amendments.
Philadelphia’s district lawyer sued in an try to cease the funds beneath Pennsylvania legislation. However a choose stated that prosecutors failed to indicate that the trouble was an unlawful lottery, and it was allowed to proceed via Election Day.
America PAC and Constructing for America’s Future, two teams Musk funds, have spent greater than $13 million making an attempt to assist elect Schimel, based on a tally by the Brennan Heart for Justice. The winner will decide whether or not conservative or liberal justices management the court docket, with key battles looming over abortion, public sector unions, voting guidelines and congressional district boundaries.
Crawford marketing campaign spokesperson Derrick Honeyman accused Musk of “making an attempt to purchase a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court docket to safe a positive ruling in his firm’s lawsuit in opposition to the state.”
Simply days earlier than Musk’s teams began spending on the Supreme Court docket race, electrical automotive producer Tesla sued Wisconsin over its choice to not enable it to open dealerships. Musk is the CEO of Tesla and in addition the top of rocket ship producer SpaceX. Tesla’s case may finally come earlier than the Supreme Court docket.
“Crucial to vote Republican for the Wisconsin Supreme Court docket to stop voting fraud,” Musk posted on X, simply eight days earlier than the lawsuit was filed in January.
Andrew Romeo, a spokesperson for America PAC, referred to the publish on X saying the petition when requested for touch upon Friday. A spokesperson for Schimel’s marketing campaign didn’t instantly reply to an electronic mail looking for remark.
Crawford and her allies have made linking Schimel with Musk a key plank of their marketing campaign. The Wisconsin Democratic Social gathering launched a brand new advert this week accusing Musk of making an attempt to purchase the seat for Schimel, a detailed ally of President Donald Trump.
Schimel earlier this week campaigned with Donald Trump Jr. at an occasion the place the president’s son stated electing Schimel was important for shielding Trump’s agenda. America PAC has additionally been making that argument in flyers it’s handing out to Wisconsin voters.
Musk’s different group, Constructing America’s Future, stated in a memo Thursday that to defeat Crawford it should “current Schimel as a pro-Trump conservative.”
The brand new petition says: “Judges ought to interpret legal guidelines as written, not rewrite them to suit their private or political agendas. By signing beneath, I’m rejecting the actions of activist judges who impose their very own views and demanding a judiciary that respects its position — deciphering, not legislating.”
The petition, whereas designed to gather information on Wisconsin voters and energize them, can also be according to Trump’s agenda alleging that “activist” judges are illegally working in opposition to him. Trump’s administration is embroiled in a number of lawsuits associated to Musk’s Division of Authorities Effectivity effort to downsize the federal paperwork.
Wisconsin Watch is a nonprofit and nonpartisan newsroom. Subscribe to our newsletters to get our investigative tales and Friday information roundup. This story is revealed in partnership with The Related Press.
