Anamika Dey, editor
Brief news
- The North Carolina Attorney General’s Office is investigating a political action committee (PAC) established by Elon Musk following a complaint about the PAC’s acquisition of personal data and failure to assist users in registering to vote as promised.
- The investigation is in response to a report that Musk’s America PAC was soliciting personal data from website users in battleground states under the guise of assisting them in registering to vote without actually doing so.
- The America PAC is advocating for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the 2024 election, and users in battleground states were unable to register to vote despite assurances of assistance.
Detailed news
Following a complaint to the state election board regarding the PAC’s acquisition of personal data and its failure to assist users in registering to vote as promised, the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office announced on Monday that it is investigating a political action committee established by billionaire Elon Musk.
The new inquiry and a similar one announced Sunday by Michigan’s secretary of state’s office are in response to a report by CNBC that Musk’s America PAC was soliciting personal data from website users in battleground states, including ZIP codes, full addresses, and phone numbers, under the guise of assisting them in registering to vote without actually doing so.
In contrast, visitors of America PAC’s website in states that are not considered competitive in the 2024 election were directed to voter registration pages for their respective states.
In the 2024 election, the America PAC is advocating for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in opposition to Vice President Kamala Harris, the de facto Democratic nominee.
Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, as well as the proprietor of X, has claimed that he was responsible for the establishment and funding of the PAC.
“Our office is aware of this issue and is conducting an investigation,” stated a spokeswoman for North Carolina AG Josh Stein on Monday regarding the PAC’s website.
When requested for additional information, she responded, “Our office is currently investigating this matter; however, we have not initiated a formal investigation.”
Stein is the Democratic candidate for governor of North Carolina.
On Sunday, a spokesperson for Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson disclosed that the Democrat’s office is conducting an investigation into America PAC to ascertain whether the organization has contravened state law.
Benson’s spokesperson stated that “every citizen should be aware of the precise manner in which their personal information is being utilized by PACs, particularly if an organization is asserting that it will assist individuals in registering to vote in Michigan or any other state.” at that time.
Despite assurances that they would receive assistance, users of America PAC’s website were unable to register to vote in Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, and Wisconsin, which are considered battleground states.
On Monday, Musk and a spokesperson for the America PAC declined to respond to inquiries for comment.
As of Monday, a user located in North Carolina who accessed the America PAC website would be unable to register to vote after providing personal information, despite the fact that the website’s pages indicated that it was possible to do so.
David Wheeler, a seasoned political activist, submitted a complaint regarding the PAC to the North Carolina Board of Elections on Friday, shortly after CNBC’s initial report on America PAC’s voter registration connections was published.
According to a copy of the complaint that CNBC perused, Wheeler claimed that America PAC has violated state laws.
Wheeler wrote, “The America PAC is feigning an online voter registration drive.” “However, they are merely gathering data on voters and are fraudulently collecting and retaining confidential voter information in violation of numerous North Carolina laws.”
Wheeler is the proprietor of American Muckrakers, a political action committee that has allocated funds to oppose the election campaigns of Republican candidates, such as former Representative Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina and Representative Lauren Boebert of Colorado.
A inquiry for comment regarding Wheeler’s complaint against America PAC was not responded to by representatives of the North Carolina State Board of Elections.
A Republican spokesman for Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt informed CNBC on Monday that American PAC had not submitted an application to utilize the state’s online voter registration interface.
The spokesman stated in an email that the secretary of state’s office permitted both partisan and non-partisan entities to securely submit voter registration applications by connecting with an Application Programming Interface (API) and agreeing to be bound by the Department’s Terms of Use.
“The Department is unaware of America PAC taking any steps to submit electronic voter registration applications for processing, and the entity has not applied to participate in this program,” the spokesman wrote.
When asked whether America PAC’s failure to submit an application for the program would result in an investigation by the secretary of state or any other legal repercussions, he declined to respond.
AdImpact reports that America PAC has allocated more than $100,000 to digital advertisements that have been directed at Pennsylvania voters since early July.
Source : CNBC News
