Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul sued Elon Musk on Friday over his proposal to pay two people $1 million for voting in the state’s Supreme Court race.
“The Wisconsin Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that elections in Wisconsin are safe, secure, free, and fair. We are aware of the offer recently posted by Elon Musk to award a million dollars to two people at an event in Wisconsin this weekend,” Kaul said in a statement to The Hill.
Kaul’s case was assigned to Brad Schimel’s liberal opponent, Susan Crawford. A spokesperson for Crawford told The Hill she will recuse herself from the case.
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The lawsuit follows Musk’s announcement that he will visit the Badger State in support of Schimel on Sunday.
“I will also personally hand over two checks for a million dollars each in appreciation for you taking the time to vote. This is super important,” Musk wrote Friday morning ahead of his visit.
Ben Wikler, chair of the Democratic Party in Wisconsin, immediately labeled Musk’s plan as a violation of state law.
The Tesla CEO, who has spent millions of dollars on the race, which will decide the ideological balance of the court, later deleted the post and clarified his intentions.
“On Sunday night, I will give a talk in Wisconsin. To clarify a previous post, entrance is limited to those who have signed the petition in opposition to activist judges,” Musk wrote.
“I will also hand over checks for a million dollars to 2 people to be spokesmen for the petition,” he added.
Despite the change, officials say Musk’s statement conflicts with Wisconsin state law, which says that anyone who “offers, gives, lends or promises to give or lend, or endeavors to procure, anything of value, or any office or employment or any privilege or immunity to, or for, any elector, or to or for any other person, in order to induce any elector to” go or not go to the polls, or vote or not vote, is illegal.
Schimel and Crawford are competing for an open seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which currently has a 3-3 ideological split. The election is on April 1.
Updated at 5 p.m. EDT
