18 U.S. Code § 597 – Expenditures to influence voting:

Whoever makes or offers to make an expenditure to any person, either to vote or withhold his vote, or to vote for or against any candidate; and

Whoever solicits, accepts, or receives any such expenditure in consideration of his vote or the withholding of his vote—

Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both; and if the violation was willful, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than two years, or both.

CNBC reports:

Facing an uphill battle in the final weeks of an affordability-focused midterm election, President Donald Trump on Wednesday night made an audacious promise: Every adult American citizen will receive a $5,000 “dividend,” but only if Republicans are victorious in November.

While extremely light on details, the proposal quickly drew heat from critics on both sides of the aisle, including some of Trump’s own supporters. And it drew questions of whether it would be illegal as a payment incentive to influence votes.

“I am hugely in favor of winning the midterms, and love much about this admin, but am strongly against bread and circus bribes,” Palantir co-founder and Republican donor Joe Lonsdale said on X.

For the record, I am hugely in favor of winning the midterms, and love much about this admin, but am strongly against bread and circus bribes. https://t.co/fNBeW1r3lP

— Joe Lonsdale (@JTLonsdale) September 10, 2026

At face value, the plan would be staggeringly expensive. There are roughly 245.3 million U.S. adult citizens, according to 2024 Census data. Giving them $5,000 apiece would cost north of $1.2 trillion.

That’s significantly more money than was distributed as part of Covid-era stimulus packages that have been blamed for exacerbating U.S. inflation, a top issue in the midterms. Less than a month ago, U.S. debt passed the $40 trillion mark for the first time.

“I would like to know how they would plan to pay” for the proposal, Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a leader of the fiscally conservative Freedom Caucus, told Politico. [Continue reading…]