The Minnesota Senate Elections committee just passed a bill that would do more to prevent bribing voters.
DFL State Senator Bonnie Westlin (Plymouth) says her bill is in response to what's happening in Wisconsin in a State Supreme Court race.
"The AP reported that Elon Musk's political action committee has not only spent money directly on the race, but the PAC, whose largest funder is Elon Musk himself, is now offering $100 to Wisconsin voters to sign a petition in opposition to activist judges," says Westlin.
A group funded by billionaire Elon Musk is offering Wisconsin voters $100 to sign a petition in opposition to “activist judges,” a move that comes two weeks before the state’s Supreme Court election and after the political action committee made a similar proposal last year in battleground states.
Musk’s political action committee America PAC announced the petition in a post on X last week. It promises $100 for each Wisconsin voter who signs the petition and another $100 for each signer they refer.
Some Republicans opposed the bill saying that it was an effort to single out Republicans, but in the end the measure passed and now goes onto the Senate Judiciary Committee.
"We have an opportunity today to draw a line in the sand in Minnesota and say no to billionaires bribing citizens for their votes," Westlin added.
The current Supreme Court election will determine whether the court will remain under 4-3 liberal control or flip to a conservative majority. One of the current liberal justices is retiring. That race has gained national attention, especially after the Musk PAC came into play.
This year’s race has morphed into a proxy battle over the nation’s politics, with Trump and Musk getting behind Brad Schimel, the Republican-backed candidate in a race that is officially nonpartisan.
Total spending on the race has reached more than $81 million, including more than $17 million by groups funded by Musk, according to a tally Tuesday by the Brennan Center for Justice. That’s the most on record for any U.S. judicial race, breaking the $56 million spent on Wisconsin’s Supreme Court contest in 2023, when majority control also was on the line.
Musk himself has given the Wisconsin Republican Party $3 million this year, which it can then forward to Schimel’s campaign or spend on the race itself.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.