Elon Musk announced his newest venture, AmericaPAC, shortly after publicly endorsing Donald Trump for re-election last month. Since then, FEC filings show the billionaire’s political group has already sunk millions of dollars into canvassing, digital media, text message services, and phone call efforts across swing states in support of the former president. But while the official AmericaPAC website is supposedly intended to help visitors register to vote, CNBC explained on Friday that the user experience varies depending on where you live. For some, AmericaPAC offers your state’s registration website; others, however, simply get a blank page after entering their personal information. And that could be a problem when it comes to laws prohibiting voter suppression.
What happens when you visit AmericaPAC
After entering your email address and zip code, AmericaPAC takes you to one of two pages: If you are located in a state that leans solidly Republican or Democrat, it simply provides a link to your state’s official voter registration portal. If you enter a zip code within a swing state such as Arizona or Georgia, however, you then encounter a form requesting personal data like full name, address, and phone number. Filling this out subsequently sends you to a page that simply reads, “Thank you for taking the first step to register to vote… Please complete the form below and we will help you complete your registration.” At the time of writing, there is no actual form underneath that message. Popular Science confirmed these results using dummy accounts for Pennsylvania (swing state) and Mississippi (solidly Republican).
While many people online are already arguing this likely amounts to voter fraud—along with offering links for anyone to file an FEC complaint against AmericaPAC—it’s probably as good a time as any to make sure you really are registered to vote ahead of this year’s historic election. Luckily, the actual US government has a website specifically dedicated to doing just that—no Musk-backed super PAC necessary.
How to register to vote online
All anyone needs to do is head to Vote.gov, then select the state in which you live or plan to cast an absentee ballot. Instead of being funneled to a page that may or may not help you register depending on your location, you are guaranteed to immediately find a link to that state’s voter registration website. Follow those guidelines, and you should be ready for November 5. Meanwhile, it’s best to direct anyone else needing to Vote.gov instead of AmericaPAC, unless they are really intent on providing Elon Musk’s political organization with their personal information.
Multiple attempts to contact AmericaPAC through its media submission portal resulted in a message reading, “Your submission failed because of an error.”
