MADISON, Wis. (AP) 鈥� A group funded by billionaire Elon Musk is $100 to sign a petition in opposition to 鈥渁ctivist judges,鈥� a move that comes two weeks before the state鈥檚 and after the political action committee made a last year in battleground states.
Musk鈥檚 political action committee America PAC announced the petition in a post on X on Thursday night. It promises $100 for each Wisconsin voter who signs the petition and another $100 for each signer they refer.
The campaign for , the Democratic-backed candidate for Wisconsin Supreme Court, said Musk was trying to buy votes ahead of the April 1 election. The offer was made two days after in the hotly contested race between Crawford and , the preferred candidate of Musk and Republicans.
The winner of the election will determine whether the court remains under liberal control or flips to a conservative majority.
Musk鈥檚 PAC used ahead of the November presidential election, $1 million a day to voters in Wisconsin and six other battleground states who signed a petition supporting the First and Second Amendments.
Philadelphia鈥檚 district attorney sued in an attempt to stop the payments under Pennsylvania law. But a judge said that prosecutors that the effort was an illegal lottery and it was allowed to continue through Election Day.
America PAC and Building for America鈥檚 Future, two groups Musk funds, have spent more than $13 million trying to help elect Schimel, according to a tally by the Brennan Center for Justice. The winner will determine whether conservative or liberal justices control the court, with key battles looming over , , voting rules and .
Crawford campaign spokesperson Derrick Honeyman accused Musk of 鈥渢rying to buy a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court to secure a favorable ruling in his company's lawsuit against the state.鈥�
Just days before Musk's groups started spending on the Supreme Court race, electric car manufacturer sued Wisconsin over its decision to not allow it to open dealerships. Musk is the CEO of Tesla and also the head of rocket ship manufacturer . Tesla's case could ultimately come before the Supreme Court.
鈥淰ery important to vote Republican for the Wisconsin Supreme Court to prevent voting fraud," Musk posted on X, just eight days before the lawsuit was filed in January.
Andrew Romeo, a spokesperson for America PAC, referred to the post on X announcing the petition when asked for comment on Friday. A spokesperson for Schimel's campaign did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.
Crawford and her allies have made linking Schimel with Musk a key plank of their campaign. The Wisconsin Democratic Party released a new ad this week accusing Musk of trying to buy the seat for Schimel, a close ally of Trump's/
Schimel earlier this week . at an event where the president's son said electing Schimel was essential for protecting Trump's agenda. America PAC has also been making that argument in flyers it's handing out to Wisconsin voters.
Musk's other group, Building America's Future, said in a memo Thursday that to defeat Crawford it must 鈥減resent Schimel as a pro-Trump conservative.鈥�
The new petition says that 鈥淛udges should interpret laws as written, not rewrite them to fit their personal or political agendas. By signing below, I鈥檓 rejecting the actions of activist judges who impose their own views and demanding a judiciary that respects its role 鈥� interpreting, not legislating.鈥�
The petition, while designed to collect data on Wisconsin voters and energize them, is also in line with alleging that 鈥渁ctivist鈥� judges are illegally working against him. Trump's administration is embroiled in several lawsuits related to Musk's Department of Government Efficiency effort to
Scott Bauer, The Associated Press
