A Pennsylvania judge ruled Monday that Elon Musk’s political action committee can continue its $1 million-a-day voter sweepstakes in swing states until Tuesday’s presidential election. The decision, made by Common Pleas Court Judge Angelo Foglietta, came after Musk’s attorneys argued that winners are paid spokespersons, not randomly selected by chance. Judge Foglietta did not immediately provide a detailed explanation for his ruling, reports the Associated Press.

District Attorney Larry Krasner, a Democrat, had attempted to halt the program, calling it a “scam” designed to sway a national election. Musk’s attorney, Chris Gober, announced that the last two recipients would be chosen from Arizona on Monday and Michigan on Tuesday, asserting that each recipient had been pre-selected, not randomly chosen. “We know exactly who will be announced as the $1 million recipient today and tomorrow,” Gober said.

Chris Young, director of America PAC, testified that recipients were pre-screened to ensure their values aligned with the group’s agenda. Musk’s legal team defended the program as “core political speech,” since participants sign a petition supporting the U.S. Constitution. They further argued that Pennsylvania’s election laws were not relevant because no additional Pennsylvania winners would be chosen before the sweepstakes ends.

Krasner maintains that the program violates state election laws and contradicts Musk’s original promise to award money “randomly.” On Oct. 19, Musk stated during a campaign appearance with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, “We’re going to be awarding a million dollars randomly to people who have signed the petition every day from now until the election.” Posts from Musk on social media also advertised a “daily chance of winning $1M!”

Krasner pointed out that the sweepstakes has collected data on over one million people from seven battleground states who signed a petition supporting free speech and gun rights. “They were scammed for their information,” he argued, noting that the PAC may retain this data well beyond the election.

President Biden called Elon Musk’s plans to give selected registered voters $1 million as part of an election sweepstakes “totally inappropriate," as he denounced Donald Trump's rally at Madison Square Garden https://t.co/1uq32ryLYO pic.twitter.com/JjhXWf405g

— Bloomberg (@business) October 28, 2024

Krasner also said he may pursue both civil damages and potential criminal charges against Musk and his PAC for targeting Pennsylvania registrants. Pennsylvania, a crucial battleground state, has 19 electoral votes. Both Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris have visited the state several times in the final campaign days.