Wisconsin appeals court won't stop Musk's $1 million payments to voters after attorney general sues (2025)

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin appellate court denied the state Democratic attorney general’s request to stop billionaire Elon Musk from handing over $1 million checks to two voters at a rally planned for Sunday, just two days before a closely contested Supreme Court election.

The denial Saturday by the Wisconsin court of appeals is the latest twist in Musk’s deep involvement in the race, which has set a record for spending in a judicial election and has become a litmus test for the opening months of Donald Trump’s presidency. Trump and Musk are backing Waukesha County Judge Brad Schimel in the race, while Democrats are behind Dane County Judge Susan Crawford.

Attorney General Josh Kaul filed the lawsuit Friday, arguing that Musk’s offer violates the law. Kaul on Saturday later appealed to the state Court of Appeals, after a county court judge refused earlier in the day to hear the request for an emergency injunction to block the payments.

Musk plans a rally Sunday where he intends to give a pair of Wisconsin voters $1 million each for signing an online petition against “activist” judges. He is also offering $100 to anyone who signs it; he previously gave $1 million to a Green Bay man who signed.

Musk and groups he funds have poured more than $20 million into the race, while Democratic megadonors, including George Soros, back Crawford. The race will determine ideological control of the court. Liberals currently hold a 4-3 majority but a retirement this year puts the majority in play. The election concludes Tuesday.

Kaul argued Musk’s promised payments violated a state law making it a felony to give voters anything of value in exchange for them voting.

Musk’s political action committee used a nearly identical tactic before the presidential election last year, offering to pay $1 million a day to voters in Wisconsin and six other battleground states who signed a petition supporting the First and Second Amendments. A judge in Pennsylvania said prosecutors failed to show the effort was an illegal lottery and allowed it to continue through Election Day.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court race comes as the court is expected to rule on abortion rights, congressional redistricting, union power and voting rules that could affect the 2026 midterms and the 2028 presidential election.

Musk initially said in a post on his social media platform, X, that he planned to “personally hand over” $2 million to a pair of voters who have already cast their ballots in the race. Kaul asked the court to order Musk to stop promoting the Sunday giveaway and to not make any future payments to Wisconsin voters.

Even though Musk’s initial post was deleted, there has been no announcement that the payments will not be made, Kaul argued in the lawsuit.

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Associated Press writer Scott Bauer contributed to this report.