Elon Musk’s Attempt to Buy the Wisconsin Supreme Court Reaches a New Low

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Elon Musk has already spent more money—$20 million and counting—to flip the Wisconsin Supreme Court than any individual donor in the history of US judicial races.

His tactics go well beyond the usual campaign spending. First, he offered to pay voters $100 each for signing a petition from his America PAC opposing “activist judges.” Even the Musk and Trump-backed candidate, Brad Schimel, said he wouldn’t feel comfortable signing it. Then Musk said he’d awarded Scott Ainsworth, a mechanical engineer from Green Bay, $1 million for signing the petition.

“It’s clear what the intention is,” Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler said. “He’s trying to bribe voters. He’s trying to buy an election. This is totally out of line. This should not be how American democracy works.”