Campaign finance watchdog sues Elon Musk, accuses him of election bribery ahead of April Supreme Court election

A Wisconsin campaign finance watchdog group is suing Elon Musk and his affiliated political action committees, claiming they conspired to break state election bribery laws by paying residents millions of dollars ahead of the April Supreme Court election.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, labels Musk’s efforts this year as a “brazen scheme to bribe Wisconsin citizens to vote” for Judge Brad Schimel, the conservative candidate in the race and Wisconsin’s former attorney general.

The case, which is being handled by the liberal firm Law Forward, accuses Musk of “paying millions directly to Wisconsin voters, bribing them to vote.” Musk’s spending included $100 payments to those who signed a petition opposing what he labeled “activist judges” along with three $1 million checks given to Wisconsinites.

The suit highlights video and social media comments from Musk and recipients of the $1 million checks doled out in the final days of the election, which the Democracy Campaign claims were aimed at inducing people to cast early ballots for Schimel.

Law Forward attorney and cofounder Jeff Mandell told WPR the reference to “activist judges” in Musk’s petition and public comments “strictly echoed the themes” of Schimel’s campaign against liberal Dane County Judge Susan Crawford. Mandell said he hopes to get a decision on the case before the next Supreme Court election in April 2026.

“We’re trying to protect free and fair elections here in Wisconsin and make sure that this kind of scheme does not occur here,” Mandell said.

On March 27, Musk posted about an upcoming rally in Green Bay where he would hand out two $1 million checks, which he said would be “limited to those who have voted in the Supreme Court election.” Musk later deleted the post and clarified that entrance would be limited to those who signed his petition.

“Defendants’ unlawful conduct creates the risk that Wisconsin elections will become an open auction, where votes go to the preferred candidates of the highest bidders and the election outcome is determined by which candidate has a patron willing and able to pay the highest sum to Wisconsin voters,” the lawsuit states.

Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, a Democrat, attempted to stop Musk from giving out the checks at the Green Bay event by filing a lawsuit. A county judge refused to hear Kaul’s request for an emergency injunction. Kaul appealed, but a Wisconsin court of appeals denied his request, and the state Supreme Court declined to consider it.

Mandell said those decisions were “procedural” orders from courts that did not address the merits of Kaul’s suit.

“We’re confident now, with the election in the rearview mirror, that the courts can handle this in sort of regular order, and that we will get a fair and full adjudication,” Mandell said.

Musk and his groups spent more than $20 million boosting Schimel and attacking Crawford, who ultimately defeated Schimel on April 1 by 10 percentage points. 

The Democracy Campaign suit asks the court to find that Musk and his groups violated Wisconsin’s laws on election bribery, civil conspiracy and public nuisance in order to prevent similar actions from happening again in the future.

“Without adjudication here, Defendants (as well as other actors with vast resources) will be emboldened to interfere in future Wisconsin elections just as they interfered with the 2025 Wisconsin Supreme Court election,” the lawsuit states. 

Musk’s America PAC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.

During the Supreme Court campaign, Democrats worked to frame the election as a referendum on Musk’s spending and work with the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, which initiated significant cuts in federal spending and layoffs of thousands of government employees. 

One month after Schimel’s resounding defeat, Musk said he planned to cut back on political spending, claiming he has “done enough.” He’s since left Washington and fought publicly with former President Donald Trump.