Elon Musk's Voting Paradox: Criticizes Mail-In Ballots Despite Personal Use
Elon Musk, the high-profile CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, has publicly denounced voting by mail as an "insane" idea that invites election fraud. However, records obtained by NBC News reveal that Musk himself has voted by mail on at least two occasions while residing in California.
Musk cast his ballots by mail in both the November 2016 presidential election, which saw Donald Trump defeat Hillary Clinton, and the November 2018 midterm elections. At the time, Musk's primary residence was in Los Angeles. These records, obtained through a public records request to the California secretary of state’s office, shed light on Musk's voting history for the first time.
Interestingly, Musk's voting record in California is sparse. Over the 18 years he was eligible to vote in the state, he only participated in those two elections. He became a U.S. citizen in 2002 and cast his first ballot at the age of 45 in 2016. Musk was actively registered to vote by August 2006, but he skipped several significant elections, including presidential races featuring Barack Obama, John McCain, and Mitt Romney, as well as all primary and local elections.
Musk canceled his California voter registration in August 2020 and announced his move to Texas at a conference in December 2020. When contacted by NBC News for comment on his voting history and past statements about mail-in ballots, Musk did not address his personal voting record but reiterated his concerns about voter fraud. "Voting by mail has been recognized as an invitation to fraud throughout the world," he wrote in an email.
Musk has criticized voting by mail multiple times this year on his social media platform, X, often mixing his criticisms with falsehoods and partial truths about U.S. elections. For instance, in January, he claimed that the U.S. does not require government-issued ID to vote and that mailing in ballots is "insane." However, this statement is misleading. The standard voter registration form asks applicants for ID numbers, and specific requirements vary by state, generally including a driver’s license number, a state identification number, or a Social Security number. Some states, like Texas, require additional identification for mail-in voting, and California requires first-time voters to mail copies of their IDs with their ballots.
In May, Musk falsely asserted that widespread voting by mail was "not allowed" before the Covid-19 pandemic. Records show that voting by mail was the choice of a majority of California voters in both elections Musk participated in. In the November 2018 election, 65% of California ballots were cast by mail, and in the November 2016 election, the figure was 58%.
California now has universal voting by mail, with all registered voters receiving ballots in advance that they can mail back or deliver by hand. The California secretary of state’s office declined to comment on Musk’s criticism but provided information about the state’s efforts to ensure the integrity of the voting system. These measures include checking ID numbers against what’s on file, examining signatures, and capturing IP addresses used for online voter registrations to prevent multiple registrations from the same device.
Numerous investigations and studies have documented that there’s no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the U.S., and examples of fraud involving mail-in or absentee ballots are exceedingly rare. When fraud does occur, prosecutors have successfully brought cases against perpetrators, including a highly publicized scheme in North Carolina.
Despite his criticisms, Musk's Super PAC, America PAC, has been encouraging swing state voters to absentee vote with ballots that can be submitted by mail. NBC News obtained a mailer from America PAC distributed in Wisconsin that included a QR code linking to America PAC's website, with accompanying text reading "SCAN HERE TO APPLY FOR YOUR ABSENTEE BALLOT." In Wisconsin, voters can cast absentee ballots by mailing them in, by bringing them to a county clerk's office, or by bringing them to a polling place.
After moving to Texas, Musk voted by absentee ballot in 2020, according to the Daily Beast. It’s unclear whether he mailed the absentee ballot. Musk is registered to vote in Brownsville, Texas, where SpaceX has operations, though he resides in Austin, according to a Business Insider report citing court records.
Musk is not the only prominent figure to both criticize and utilize mail-in voting. Former President Donald Trump has also voted by mail in Florida while criticizing the practice. Musk has endorsed Trump’s bid to return to the White House over Vice President Kamala Harris.
Voting by mail, once primarily associated with Democratic get-out-the-vote efforts, is now being embraced by some Republicans as a way to boost turnout. Musk, who has described himself as an independent, has stated that he voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 and President Joe Biden in 2020.
Musk's voting history and his public statements on mail-in voting highlight a paradox that underscores the complexities and controversies surrounding election practices in the United States.