I have written this piece for Slate. A snippet:

Federal law has long prohibited providing payments or making expenditures to induce voting, whether or not those inducements are limited to those who might vote for a particular candidate. The Department of Justice’s election crimes manual explains that the law has been interpreted broadly: “The bribe may be anything having monetary value, including cash, liquor, lottery chances, and welfare benefits such as food stamps.” And it explains the reason for the prohibition: “Those who choose to vote have a right not to have the voting process diluted with ballots that have been procured through bribery; and that the selection of the nation’s leaders should not degenerate into a spending contest, with the victor being the candidate who can pay the most voters.”

In the past, these prohibitions have tripped up civic-minded companies like Ben & Jerry’s, which in 2008 wanted to offer free ice cream to people who showed “I voted” stickers. After I pointed out the likely illegality of the scheme, Ben & Jerry’s shifted to providing free ice cream to everyone, and not just voters (a sure win for ice cream lovers under the legal voting age). Similarly, efforts to give free pizza at polling places cannot be limited just to voters, so if you are hungry—but already voted, plan to on Election Day, or are not eligible—you might want to hit up an early voting line (except in Georgia)….

Musk appears to have finally crossed the line Tuesday night, when he wrote on X that: “Tomorrow night through Monday, I will be giving a series of talks throughout Pennsylvania. If you’d like to attend one of my talks, there’s no attendance fee. You just need to have signed our petition supporting free speech & right to bear arms & have voted in this election.” He followed up with a post stating: “To clarify, you need have voted in Pennsylvania.”

Musk knows that he’s offering something of value—note his reference to “no attendance fee.” Tech entrepreneurs often give talks for money, and a ticket to see him is a thing of value under the federal law. It’s only being offered to those who voted, and therefore it appears to cross the legal line.

It would be kind of like if Taylor Swift said there’s no attendance fee to come to one of her concerts, but you have to have voted to get in. Concert tickets, lecture tickets, they are all things of value (even if some people may well prefer Swift over Musk if given a choice).

Violations of federal law can lead to imprisonment for a year or more or other penalties. We don’t know if Musk realized he’s breaking the law, but the simplest thing is for him to follow the Ben & Jerry’s strategy and open up his lectures to voters and nonvoters alike….