A political action committee backed by billionaire Elon Musk is being investigated by the Michigan secretary of state’s office amid efforts to collect voter data.
Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, has said he created and helped fund the America PAC, which is supporting former President Donald Trump. Musk has a net worth of over $225 billion, according to Forbes.
The committee has been acquiring detailed voter information from those living in Michigan and other battleground states after people submit their personal data through a section on the PAC’s website that says “register to vote.”
After clicking on the “register to vote” tab on America PAC’s website, users in states like Michigan can submit a ZIP code, address and phone number. People with a Michigan address are brought to a page that says “thank you” and asks users to “complete the form below” to help wrap up the voter registration process. As of Sunday afternoon, though, there was no other form to complete below the words “thank you.”
“Every citizen should know exactly how their personal information is being used by PACs, especially if an entity is claiming it will help people register to vote in Michigan or any other state,” a spokeswoman for the Michigan secretary of state’s office said in a statement to CNBC.
“While the America PAC is a federal political action committee, the Department is reviewing their activities to determine if there have been any violations of state law. We will refer potential violations to the Michigan Attorney General’s office as appropriate,” the spokeswoman added.
CNBC first reported on the group’s efforts and how the site does not directly register people to vote for those with an address in a swing state.
A person with direct knowledge of the PAC’s operations told CNBC that, at one point since the group registered with the Federal Election Commission in May, the links on the website were functioning properly — but admits now they’re not.
The group is planning to launch a new website in the coming weeks, this person explained. The person declined to be named in order to speak freely about private matters.
A spokesman for the America PAC declined to comment. Musk did not return emails seeking comment.
Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat, is Michigan’s secretary of state and the lead election official in the state. She has been a vocal opponent of election-related misinformation and taken on such statements made by former President Donald Trump.
The Republican National Committee has sued Benson and other Michigan Democrats at least twice this year, according to legal records.
Unclear whether any laws broken
It’s unclear if any laws in Michigan have been broken by the America PAC.
Barbara McQuade, who once served as a U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, was not convinced that the the PAC was necessarily breaking any state laws. “I am not aware of any laws being broken,” McQuade said in an email on Sunday.
Mary Massaron, a partner at law firm Plunkett Cooney, raised concerns in an email to CNBC, but did not say whether the PAC could have broken state laws.
“It is very troubling for any candidate or PAC funded project to deliberately fail to provide information or a link to register to vote when someone asks because they would potentially vote for the opposing candidates,” Massaron said in an email.
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