A group linked to Elon Musk’s network, The Fair Election Fund, offered a $5 million bounty for evidence of voter fraud but failed to produce any credible evidence.
Musk-Linked Group Offered $5m for Proof of Voter Fraud – and Came Up Empty Handed
The Fair Election Fund, a group with deep connections to Elon Musk‘s political network, promised to reward whistleblowers with up to $5 million in exchange for evidence of voter fraud. However, despite its high-profile backing and lucrative bounty offers, the group failed to produce any credible evidence.
A fair election fund is a public financing system for elections, where candidates receive funding from the government or other sources to reduce reliance on private donors.
This system aims to level the playing field and promote transparency in campaign finance.
In countries with fair election funds, candidates can choose to opt-in and receive a fixed amount of money per voter or constituent.
The funds are often used for campaign expenses such as advertising, staff, and travel.
A Fruitless Search for Voter Fraud
In May 2024, a flashy ad went viral on social media warning that ‘across the country, there are real cases of fraud and abuses of the [election] system that have eroded our trust.‘ The ad pledged that whistleblowers who shared evidence of election fraud would be rewarded with payment from the group’s $5 million fund.
Election fraud refers to any attempt to manipulate or alter the outcome of an election through illegal means.
This can include voter suppression, 'ballot tampering', and vote buying.
According to a study by the Brennan Center for Justice, 1 in 4 Americans believe that the 2020 US presidential election was stolen due to widespread voter fraud.
However, independent fact-checkers have found no evidence to support this claim.
In fact, studies have shown that 'voter fraud is extremely rare', occurring at a rate of less than 0.0009%.
The Fair Election Fund was just one of several groups linked to Musk‘s network that promised to uncover voter fraud. However, despite their efforts, none of these groups were able to produce any credible evidence.
Voter fraud refers to the act of falsely casting a vote in an election, either by impersonating another voter or attempting to vote multiple times.
According to the National Association of Secretaries of State, there were 138 reported cases of voter fraud out of over 1 billion votes cast in the 2016 'US presidential election.'
The most common types of 'voter fraud' include absentee ballot tampering and voter registration fraud.
To combat 'voter fraud', many states have implemented voter ID laws and other security measures to verify voter eligibility.
A Series of Unrelated Detours
Instead of focusing on voter fraud, the Fair Election Fund took a series of unrelated detours into tangential areas like third-party ballot access. In July 2024, the group launched a $175,000 ad blitz targeting North Carolina state board of election members who had delayed placing third-party presidential candidates ‘Cornel West and Robert F Kennedy Jr’ on the ballot.
The group also ran digital ads in North Carolina featuring Black voters, some of which asserted that ‘African American voices are not being heard.‘ The Fair Election Fund pushed similar efforts in states such as Michigan.
Chasing Right-Wing Conspiracy Theories
The Fair Election Fund‘s efforts to expose voter fraud seemed to be a failure. However, the group did manage to seize on several right-wing conspiracy theories, including one about the online fundraising platform ‘ActBlue.’
In the summer of 2024, the Fair Election Fund claimed to have found ‘60,000 potential discrepancies’ in ActBlue-facilitated contributions to the Biden-Harris campaign. The group spent $250,000 on this investigation and announced a $50,000 ad buy in several swing states soliciting evidence from people who claim to have been ‘defrauded by ActBlue.’
However, no evidence from this investigation has been made public.
A Lack of Transparency
The Fair Election Fund‘s efforts to expose voter fraud were shrouded in secrecy. Despite its promises to reward whistleblowers with up to $5 million, the group failed to produce any credible evidence.
The group’s website has not been updated since October 2024, and its X/Twitter account has not posted since November 2024. The Fair Election Fund‘s spokesperson, former representative ‘Doug Collins,’ became Trump‘s veterans affairs secretary and is now leading the office of government ethics.
Ties to Musk’s Network
The Fair Election Fund is a fictitious name for another 501(c)(4) non-profit, Documented can reveal. The group operates within a network run by Musk‘s top political advisers and received funding from the same dark-money vehicle Musk has used to channel his political spending.
The group is led by ‘Victoria ‘Tori’ Sachs,’ a Republican operative who was also executive director of And to the Republic, a group that supported ‘Ron DeSantis‘s presidential bid.’ The Fair Election Fund has other ties to the Musk advisers who lead Building America’s Future, including Phil Cox’s digital marketing firm IMGE LLC.
A Pattern of Behavior
The Fair Election Fund‘s failure to produce any credible evidence of voter fraud is not an isolated incident. Despite their efforts, none of the groups linked to Musk‘s network were able to uncover any significant instances of voter fraud.
This pattern of behavior raises questions about the true intentions of these groups and the role they play in shaping public discourse around voting rights.
- theguardian.com | Musk linked group offered $5m for proof of voter fraud – and came up with nothing
- electionlawblog.org | Musk linked group offered $5m for proof of voter fraud – and came ...
