Is Musk's 1 month per day cash donation to US voters legal?

“I think (Elon) Musk’s offer is probably illegal,” said Paul Schiff Berman, Walter S. Cox Professor of Law at George Washington University.

He pointed to U.S. election law, which says anyone who “pays, offers to pay, or accepts payment to register to vote or to vote” is subject to a $10,000 fine or five years in prison must calculate.

“His offer is only open to registered voters, so I think his offer conflicts with that provision,” Berman told the BBC.

The Justice Department declined to comment. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) has been contacted for comment.

The strategy could be covered by a loophole because no one is being paid directly to register or vote, a former FEC chairman suggested.

Brad Smith told the New York Times that the giveaways were “something of a gray area” but “not that close to the limit.”

“He doesn’t pay them to register to vote. He pays them to sign a petition – and he wants only registered voters to sign the petition. So I think he’s doing well here,” he said.

But an election law professor at Northwestern University told the Associated Press that context matters.

“It's not quite the same as paying someone to vote, but you're getting so close (to Election Day) that we're concerned about the legality of it,” Michael Kang said.

Adav Noti of the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center said Mr. Musk's plan “violates federal law and is subject to civil or criminal enforcement by the Justice Department.”

“It is illegal to distribute money on the condition that recipients register as voters,” Noti told the BBC.