Elon Musk's voter lottery looks illegal. Too bad he'll probably get away with it

Source: LA Times

Elon Musk’s voter registration lottery scheme is too cute by half and probably illegal. It also illustrates why violations of election law often go unpunished.

[....]

The barriers to law enforcement here are typical of election matters. To begin with, while every voter in the state (or every Harris voter) is arguably harmed by the scheme to manipulate the electorate, it would be difficult to find someone to bring a claim against Musk. The Supreme Court has found that a “generalized grievance” that applies equally to every voter can’t confer the necessary legal standing.

The Department of Justice could sue Musk’s PAC and seek an injunction directing it to cease any unlawful behavior. And it might. But the department’s letter was sent days ago without public comment, and its reported warning that the lottery may be illegal isn’t likely to petrify scofflaws such as Musk and Trump. And it’s well-known that the department is habitually hesitant to do anything that could be perceived as interfering with an election.

Even if the department did secure an injunction, there would be no way to undo the new registrations of likely Trump voters that Musk already has stitched up. The same would be true if the department leveled federal criminal charges against the PAC, the prospects of which are remote for that and other reasons.

Read more: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2024-10-24/elon-musk-voter-lottery-swing-states-donald-trump-election-2024-harry-litman