Elon Musk's Wisconsin voter payments likely broke election bribery law

MADISON, Wis. - The world's richest man likely broke the state's election bribery law.

That is what the Wisconsin Elections Commission found in a 5-1 vote during a closed session last week.

$1 million checks

The backstory:

Elon Musk offered checks of $1 million to three Wisconsinites who had voted in the 2025 state supreme court election. Campaign finance reports show those checks went through, and Musk might still pay for them.

Two days before the spring 2025 election, Musk took the stage in Green Bay with a cheesehead and a pair of $1 million checks.

"The reason for the checks is that – it's really just to get attention," Musk said.

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The rally delivered on an offer Musk made on X, the social media platform he owns.

Musk's first post described the event as only for people who had already voted in the race. He said the checks would be given "in appreciation for voters taking the time to vote."

Twelve hours later, he clarified his post.

The event would only be for people who signed a petition opposing so-called activist judges. And now, these checks would be paid to people who would serve as spokesmen for the petition.

Musk and his America PAC spent more than $12 million in support of Brad Schimel. The former Waukesha County judge and current federal prosecutor was the conservative in the race against Dane County Judge Susan Crawford. Crawford won by nearly 11 percentage points — flipping the court's balance of power to liberal.

Attorney's perspective

Dig deeper:

Michael Maistelman is a local attorney focused on elections and public affairs.

"I think his lawyers – and I'm sure he's got the best lawyers in the country – said, 'Oops, this is problematic. Why don't we try to fix this and backtrack?'" elections attorney Michael Maistelman said.

Maistelman said he believes the lawyers knew then what the elections commission decided just last week – Elon Musk likely broke the state's elections bribery law.

Voter complaints

What we know:

The law prohibits anyone from offering, giving, lending, or promising anything of value in order to get someone to vote or not vote. It defines anything of value as something worth more than $1.

A pair of complaints from voters to the commission accuse Musk of breaking the law just by offering the money, not paying it.

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"Does that difference really matter?" asked FOX6's Sam Kraemer.

"I don't think so. And I mean, look, there's of the six members of the elections commission, three are appointed by Republicans. Three from Democrats. Three of them, half of them happen to be lawyers, so they understand the law and how to analyze what probable cause is," Maistelman said.

Maistelman pointed out proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt is a much higher legal threshold than finding probable cause.

What's next:

It is now up to the Brown County District Attorney's office to decide whether the complaints are strong enough to prosecute. FOX6 News asked District Attorney David Lasee, who's a Republican, for comment on the complaints, but did not hear back today.

The commission is looking for an update within 40 days.

FOX6 News also reached out to Musk, but a spokesperson did not reply.

Portions of this article were formatted using A.I. FOX6’s Sam Kraemer and an editor reviewed it for accuracy and tone prior to publishing.

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