Wisconsin Elections Commission Refers Musk Complaints to Prosecutors on 5-1 Vote

The Wisconsin Elections Commission found probable cause that Elon Musk violated the state's election bribery law by offering $1 million checks to voters during the April 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court election. The commission, made up of three Republicans and three Democrats, voted 5-1 last Thursday to refer two complaints filed by voters in Milwaukee and Green Bay to the Brown County District Attorney's office.

Commission Communications Director Emilee Miklas confirmed the vote.

Prosecutors have 40 days to report back. The motion stated that Musk violated a state law making it a crime to offer anything of value to induce a person to vote. Musk handed out the checks through his America PAC to voters who signed a petition against activist judges.

He distributed giant novelty checks to two voters at a Green Bay rally days before the election. Musk and groups he supported spent at least $20 million backing Republican-endorsed Judge Brad Schimel. Schimel lost to Democratic-endorsed Judge Susan Crawford by 10 percentage points.

Total spending on the race exceeded $100 million. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul sued to stop the payments before the election. The state Supreme Court declined to take up the case. The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign later sued Musk and America PAC in Brown County court, alleging violations of the election bribery statute and unauthorized lottery rules.

That case remains pending. A federal magistrate judge in Texas ruled last month that a fraud claim over Musk's 2024 daily giveaways can proceed, while dismissing a breach of contract claim.