No, this advocacy group is not paying people $200 to vote for Kamala Harris

As voters cast their ballots on Election Day, some social media users claimed they were offered money to vote for a particular candidate – an illegal practice.

“I got a text giving me $200 to vote for Kamala Harris,” one person said in a Nov. 4 message Instagram video said.

The video showed a screenshot of a text message exchange with the progressive voting organization Turnout the Vote. The conversation started with a text from Turnout the Vote asking if the person wanted to become a voting ambassador and “earn up to $200.”

(Screenshot from Instagram)

The video then cuts back to the person saying, “Are you telling me this election isn’t rigged?”

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While Turnout the Vote supports Harris’ presidential campaign, this post misinterprets the group’s paid “voting ambassador” program.

Greta Carnes, spokesperson for Turnout the Vote, said the organization never pays anyone to register to vote, to vote in general or to vote for a particular candidate. The organization also does not pay people to have someone else register to vote or vote.

Registering to vote or voting is not a requirement for someone to become a voting ambassador or get paid for the position, Carnes said.

Turnout the Vote’s website states that voting ambassadors can earn up to $200 “by talking to the people in your life about voting in the November elections.”

“We have an organizing effort where our voice ambassadors organize and represent their communities, and because we respect and value our team’s time and value, we offer our ambassadors a stipend,” Carnes said. “Campaigns, parties and political organizations have always paid field organizers.”

The text exchange in the Instagram post begins with this message from Turnout the Vote: “Hello, it’s Sam with Turnout the Vote! We only have 2 days until the election. This is your last chance to join us join as a voting ambassador to make sure everyone knows how important it is to vote for Kamala Harris this fall. It’s completely remote and you can earn up to $200.

The person who received the message replied, “Yes.”

Turnout the Vote then sent a link for the person to sign up as a voting ambassador.

The person replied, “Is it legal to offer me compensation if I vote a certain way? I just want to make sure I don’t get in trouble.”

Turnout the Vote responded: “It’s important to compensate organizers for their work. Compensation is never tied to votes. Have fun!”

Michael Morley, an election law professor at Florida State University, told PolitiFact it is opposed federal law offering to pay someone or making a payment for voting, withholding a vote, or voting for or against a particular candidate.

“The main point of it is to try to maintain the integrity of the electoral process and ensure that people have the freedom to make their own decisions, and that the outcomes of elections are not based on money,” Morley said. “That’s a very different concern than hiring people to increase attendance.”

Billionaire Elon Musk is holding a daily $1 million lottery for registered voters in battleground states, raises questions about legality of such a competition. A Pennsylvania judge ruled November 4 that the lottery could continue.

We consider the claim that a text message shows Turnout the Vote offering “$200 to vote for Kamala Harris” to be untrue.