The Democratic district attorney of Philadelphia, Larry Krasner, is suing billionaire Elon Musk to stop the tech entrepreneur’s lottery giving $1 million to random voters across swing states who sign his pledge to support conservative causes and register to vote. The Justice Department has already informed Mr. Musk that he may be breaking the law. 

Mr. Krasner filed his lawsuit in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas on Monday, saying that Mr. Musk is trying to buy votes for his preferred candidate, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Mr. Musk has already given away $9 million through his outside spending group, America PAC, much of which has gone to Pennsylvania voters. 

“America PAC and Musk must be stopped, immediately, before the upcoming Presidential Election on Nov. 5,” the lawsuit says. “That is because America PAC and Musk hatched their illegal lottery scheme to influence voters in that election.” Mr. Krasner says Mr. Musk is violating state election laws and consumer protection laws. 

America PAC did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment from the New York Sun. 

Mr. Musk announced the lottery during a rally in Pennsylvania just a few days ago. The only requirements for entering the lottery are that individuals are registered to vote in a swing state, and that they sign a petition “pledging support for the First and Second Amendments.”

Observers and lawyers were quick to point out that Mr. Musk’s giveaway appears to violate federal law, as it is illegal to pay individuals to register to vote, or to offer them any kind of lottery prize for doing so. 

“I think there are real questions with how he is spending money in this race, how the dark money is flowing not just into Pennsylvania but apparently into the pockets of Pennsylvanians. That is deeply concerning,” Pennsylvania’s governor, Josh Shapiro, said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” shortly after the lottery was announced. “When you start flowing this kind of money into politics, I think it raises serious questions that folks may want to take a look at.”

The Justice Department warned Mr. Musk in a letter to stop doling out the money just days after the sweepstakes began. While America PAC stopped sending out the checks after the warning letter was sent, the group restarted the lottery days later. 

Mr. Musk has been more politically active in recent years, listing “the woke mind virus,” freedom of speech, and federal regulations as his most motivating issues. He says he cast his first vote for a Republican in Texas in 2022, and recently got involved with the Trump campaign through his America PAC. 

The outside spending group is flush with cash, but may not be meeting its voter contact benchmarks. According to a recent report from the Guardian, as much as one in four reported voter contacts by American PAC employees appear to be fraudulent, with employees listing voter contacts that never actually occurred. 

Mr. Musk appeared alongside President Trump at Madison Square Garden on Sunday night, describing himself as “dark, gothic MAGA.” He and Trump’s longtime friend Howard Lutnick plan to run what they are calling the “Department of Government Efficiency” should Trump return to the White House.

The billionaire proclaimed that he would seek to cut $2 trillion from the federal budget, though he has never clarified what he would cut.