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Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul filed a lawsuit Friday seeking to block billionaire Elon Musk from handing out $1 million checks to voters ahead of Tuesday’s pivotal Wisconsin Supreme Court election. Kaul’s legal move comes after Musk’s political action committee (PAC) announced plans to award money to individuals involved in the race just days before ballots are cast in one of the most consequential judicial elections in U.S. history.
The lawsuit, filed in county circuit court, accuses Musk of attempting to influence the election in violation of Wisconsin laws that prohibit offering anything of value to induce a person to vote.
“Elon Musk’s proposed giveaway raises serious concerns about election integrity,” Kaul said in a statement. “No one, not even a billionaire, is above the law. Voters must be free to cast their ballots without undue influence.”
Musk had originally posted on his social media platform, X, that he planned to personally hand $1 million checks to two Wisconsin voters during a Sunday event in Green Bay. He later deleted the post, clarifying that the recipients would instead be “spokesmen” for an anti-“activist judges” petition promoted by his PAC.
Critics argue the shifting explanations still amount to a violation of state law. “Even if the initial offer was withdrawn, there has been no clear indication the payments won’t go forward,” Kaul wrote in the lawsuit.
The controversy erupted as Musk’s PAC named the recipient of its first $1 million: Scott Ainsworth, a Green Bay engineer who has donated to Republican candidate Brad Schimel and publicly supported former President Donald Trump. Ainsworth appeared in a PAC video urging Wisconsinites to vote for Schimel and denounce liberal judges.
“If everyone in the MAGA movement shows up and votes for Brad Schimel, we will win,” Ainsworth said in the video.
Musk’s PAC also promised $100 to any registered Wisconsin voter who signed or shared the petition, triggering further legal scrutiny. “The question is whether these offers are meant to induce people to vote — and there are credible arguments both ways,” said Bryna Godar, a staff attorney at the University of Wisconsin Law School.
The Supreme Court race has already broken records, with over $81 million spent. It pits Schimel, a former Republican attorney general, against liberal Dane County Judge Susan Crawford. The outcome could tip the ideological balance of the court, with major decisions on abortion, redistricting, union rights, and voting laws looming.
Musk’s PAC has funneled more than $20 million into Schimel’s campaign effort. Meanwhile, Democratic megadonors like George Soros and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker have contributed millions to support Crawford.
In a brief interview after a campaign stop, Schimel declined to say whether Musk’s proposal is illegal. “I don’t know. I’m not his lawyer,” he said.
Crawford’s campaign called Musk’s actions a “last-minute desperate distraction.”
“Wisconsinites don’t want a billionaire like Musk telling them who to vote for,” said campaign spokesperson Derrick Honeyman. “On Tuesday, voters should reject Musk’s lackey, Brad Schimel.”
With legal battles escalating and national political figures weighing in, the race has become a lightning rod in the battleground state — and Musk’s unprecedented intervention may ultimately land before the very court he’s trying to influence.
