Wisconsin voters will go to the polls Tuesday to cast ballots in the state's Supreme Court race. The race has turned fierce, drawing national attention and big donors, and sparking legal questions about voter enticement and election law.
Musk and President Donald Trump have thrown their weight behind Brad Schimel, the candidate backed by Republicans in the non-partisan race for Wisconsin's highest court. His opponent is Susan Crawford, who is backed by Democrats. Liberal justices currently hold the majority in the 4-3 court, but liberal Justice Ann Walsh Bradley is retiring after 30 years. Tuesday's election will decide whether liberals keep the majority or the court flips conservative.
"There are issues about abortion laws, issues about union organizing, where a Republican majority would rule in one direction, a Democratic majority would rule in the other," said Mordecai Lee, a professor emeritus at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
In total, Musk's political action committees and groups he supports have spent more than $20 million in the race. On Sunday, Musk held a rally in Green Bay where he gave out $1 million checks to two attendees despite a lawsuit from the state's attorney general, Josh Kaul. One of the check recipients is the head of the Wisconsin College Republicans, a spokesman for Musk confirmed to NBC News.
Musk also offered Wisconsin voters $100 if they were willing to sign a petition against "activist judges." He argued the court race could affect Trump's ability to enact his agenda.
Kaul argued the giveaways were illegal. The state Supreme Court ultimately declined to intervene.
Under Wisconsin law, it is a felony to offer, give, lend or promise to lend or give anything of value to induce a voter to cast a ballot or not vote. Ahead of the rally, Musk posted on his social media platform X that he would hand over $1 million checks to two voters who had already cast ballots, "in appreciation for you taking the time to vote." He deleted the post, which legal experts have said was likely a violation of state law. In a revised post, Musk instead said attendees had to sign the petition and the two recipients of his $1 million checks would be "spokesmen for the petition." Still, legal scholars question whether simply offering the checks initially violated state law.
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Musk ran similar lotteries in battleground states ahead of the November election.
Political experts believe that the election will be seen, in part, as a referendum on how the Trump administration and Republicans are doing two months into Trump's second term.
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"All the political strategists and consultants are going to look at the Wisconsin results and they're going to interpret it to say, 'Ah, here's the magic sauce. Here's the formula that led to so-and-so winning.' Then, I think we're going to suddenly see that replicated in all kinds of races all over the country for the next year," Lee said.
