Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul filed a lawsuit Friday to block Elon Musk from distributing $1 million checks to voters in the days leading up to the April 3, 2025, Wisconsin Supreme Court election, calling it a “blatant attempt” to violate state bribery laws.
Despite the legal challenge, the Wisconsin Supreme Court allowed Musk’s cash giveaway to proceed, rejecting Kaul’s emergency request to halt the payments. Hours later, Musk took the stage at a town hall in Green Bay, where he handed out two $1 million checks to event attendees while urging support for conservative candidate Brad Schimel.
One of the recipients of Musk’s cash prize was Nicholas Jacobs, the chair of the Wisconsin College Republicans.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court election between Brad Schimel, a Trump-backed conservative, and Susan Crawford, a liberal judge from Dane County, has drawn national attention due to its potential impact on the balance of the state’s highest court. With liberals currently holding a narrow 4-3 majority, the outcome of the race could affect a range of key issues, including abortion rights, labor protections, and voting laws.
Musk has openly acknowledged the stakes of the race, particularly its implications for congressional redistricting.
“ It could cause the House to switch to Democrat if that redrawing takes place,” Musk said during a recent discussion on X, where he hosted Schimel and U.S. Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.).
Musk’s political action committee, America PAC, has spent millions on the race, including paying registered Wisconsin voters $100 each to sign a petition opposing so-called “activist judges.”
Kaul’s lawsuit argued that Musk’s planned giveaway directly violated Wisconsin Statute § 12.11, which prohibits providing anything of value to a voter in exchange for voting or influencing their decision.
“ Wisconsin law forbids anyone from offering or promising to give anything of value to an elector in order to induce the elector to go to the polls, vote or refrain from voting, or vote for a particular person,” the lawsuit stated.
“ Musk’s announcement of his intention to pay $1 million to two Wisconsin electors who attend his event on Sunday night, specifically conditioned on their having voted in the upcoming April 3, 2025, Wisconsin Supreme Court election, is a blatant attempt to violate Wis. Stat. § 12.11. This must not happen.”
Kaul sought:
• an emergency order blocking Musk from promoting or issuing payments to voters
• a restraining order preventing further cash-based election incentives
However, Columbia County Circuit Court Judge W. Andrew Voigt refused to hear the lawsuit before the Green Bay rally, forcing Kaul to file an emergency appeal to the Wisconsin Court of Appeals.
The appeals court rejected Kaul’s request on Saturday, prompting the Wisconsin Supreme Court to take up the case Sunday.
In a last-minute ruling just before Musk’s rally, the Wisconsin Supreme Court refused to block the giveaways, allowing Musk to hand out his million-dollar checks as planned.
Musk’s lawyers had also filed motions to recuse two justices—Rebecca Frank Dallet and Jill J. Karofsky—arguing that they previously campaigned for Crawford and should not rule on the case. The court declined to remove them from the decision.
With no legal roadblocks left, Musk appeared on stage at his event in Green Bay, where he handed out two $1 million checks to attendees.
Urging the crowd to support Schimel, Musk framed the election as a defining moment for Republican control in Congress, stating:
“ A vote for which party controls the House of Representatives” was at stake, he told attendees.
Before the court’s decision, Musk’s legal team attempted to have Justices Rebecca Frank Dallet and Jill J. Karofsky recused from the case, arguing that they had previously campaigned for Crawford and should not be involved.
“ To avoid any potential perceptions of bias and manifestations of possible bias, Justices Dallet and Karofsky should decline to participate in consideration of this matter,” Musk’s lawyers argued.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court rejected this request and issued its ruling allowing Musk’s giveaways to move forward.
Following the court’s decision, Crawford campaign spokesperson Derrick Honeyman condemned Musk’s financial interference in the race, calling it a “ last-minute desperate distraction.”
“ Wisconsinites don’t want a billionaire like Musk telling them who to vote for,” Honeyman said. “ And on Tuesday, voters should reject Musk’s lackey Brad Schimel.”
Beyond the million-dollar checks, Musk’s America PAC also announced a new “Block Captain” program, where participants will be paid $20 per photo they post of a Schimel campaign sign alongside a thumbs-up gesture.
The move, part of Musk’s wider election push, builds on a history of using cash giveaways as political leverage.
The Wisconsin election is not the first time Musk has used direct cash incentives to sway voters.
• In 2024, Musk’s America PAC ran a $1 million sweepstakes in swing states, widely viewed as an effort to increase turnout for Donald Trump.
• Now, the Wisconsin race has become the most expensive state supreme court race in U.S. history, with Musk and affiliated PACs pouring nearly $20 million into efforts to back Schimel.
With the election set for April 3, the outcome will determine whether conservatives gain control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, potentially reshaping state laws on abortion, labor protections, and congressional redistricting.
If Schimel wins, the court could:
• redraw congressional districts to benefit Republicans and shift control of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2026
• uphold restrictive voting laws passed under previous GOP legislatures
• roll back key protections for abortion access, labor unions, and environmental regulations
If Crawford wins, Democrats could:
• strike down partisan gerrymandering, making Wisconsin’s congressional districts more competitive for Democrats
• challenge Trump-backed election policies at the state level
• block efforts to further restrict abortion access and voting rights
Musk’s multimillion-dollar involvement in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race has tested the limits of election law, raising questions about how far billionaires can go in financially influencing elections.
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