Summary

Two Pennsylvania voters, Austin Gwiazdowski and Jeanne Fermier, received $100 checks from Elon Musk’s pro-Trump “America PAC” despite not signing the PAC’s petition, which was required to qualify for payments.

The petition aimed to gather support for the First and Second Amendments and facilitate pro-Trump outreach.

Both voters expressed confusion and refused to cash the checks.

The PAC, funded by Musk, mailed 187,000 checks as part of efforts to boost Trump’s Pennsylvania support, while Musk’s political influence continues to rise.

  • adarza@lemmy.ca
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    1 month ago

    187,000 counts of trying to buy votes.

    penalty: a lecture about the lowball offers.

  • PunnyName@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    What sucks: for the last 4 fucking years, we’ve had a constant stream of bullshit about “cheating and fraud” from Fuckface 45 and his cronies. It’s now normalized to call into question election integrity, so even if they actually fucked with the election, it’s highly unlikely anyone could figure out anything.

    Thanks, exhaustion.

  • Zier@fedia.io
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    18 U.S. Code § 597 - Expenditures to influence voting

    Whoever makes or offers to make an expenditure to any person, either to vote or withhold his vote, or to vote for or against any candidate; and Whoever solicits, accepts, or receives any such expenditure in consideration of his vote or the withholding of his vote— Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and if the violation was willful, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both. (June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 721; Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, § 330016(1)(H), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2147; Pub. L. 104–294, title VI, § 601(a)(12), Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3498.)

    • bquintb
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      1 month ago

      The rich and powerful are above the law in the US

  • octopus_ink@lemmy.ml
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    1 month ago

    Nothing could make me happier than the opportunity to take a hundred bucks from Musk that he himself accidentally sent to me.

    Alright, plenty of things could make me happier. But it would still make me pretty happy.

    • Serinus@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      Just as likely he’s now sending a pittance to other people in order to say he wasn’t targeting a group. You can send out a LOT of hundred dollar bills before you approach a billion.

  • ATDA@lemmy.world
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    1 month ago

    Certainly no one would sign up random addresses to highlight his lack of checks. Teehee.

    • Razzazzika@lemm.ee
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      1 month ago

      They still can use a bank… they’re just prohibited from directly using technology themselves. Other people can use technology on their behalf. I just picked up an Amish hitchhiker 2 weeks ago. He can’t drive a car but he can ride on one fine.

      • Wogi@lemmy.world
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        That’s really not true either. They don’t take issue with technology.

        They have cell phones and washing machines. Some Amish communities just look like any old country highway with pickup trucks and harvesting equipment.

        The particular type of Amish you’re thinking of will still have things like landlines and probably some electricity on the farm.

        They take issue with depending on others, Amish strive to be self sufficient and independent. They don’t want to attach themselves to possessions, or things they can’t make and maintain themselves, but that doesn’t mean they can’t use them. They can and gladly do. They have rules on their use, they self regulate their use. Guy I went to school with has his wife go through and look through his phone. If she thought the was using it too much she’d hang on to it. He drove an old pickup and he and his brothers ran a junk yard part time specifically so he’d have access to parts for it. He was going to school to be a machinist, because there was a machine shop in his community and he didn’t want to bother the elders with learning how to use it. Soon as he finished the precision machine program he just went back to his farm.

      • ouRKaoS@lemmy.today
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        1 month ago

        prohibited from directly using technology themselves

        Unless you count one of the other billions of loopholes they have… I live pretty near an Amish community, and often see them with cell phones & vapes. Power tools are okay “for work”. Hell, there’s a buggy I see about once a week with RGB LEDs on the sides.