No, this advocacy group isn’t paying people $200 to vote for Kamala Harris

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

"I got a text message offering me $200 to vote for Kamala Harris," a person in a Nov. 4 Instagram video said.

The video showed a screenshot of a text message exchange with the progressive voting advocacy group Turnout the Vote. The conversation began 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 who says, "You’re telling me that this election isn’t rigged?"

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Although Turnout the Vote is supporting Harris’ presidential campaign, this post misconstrued the group’s paid "voting ambassador" program.

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

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

Turnout the Vote’s website says voting ambassadors can earn up to $200 "for talking to the people in your life about voting in the November election."

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"We are running an organizing effort where our Voting Ambassadors organize and turn out their communities, and because we respect and value the time and worth of our team, we do offer our Ambassadors a stipend," Carnes said. "Campaigns, parties, and political organizations have always paid field organizers."

The text message exchange seen in the Instagram post starts with this message from Turnout the Vote: "Hi, it’s Sam w/ Turnout the Vote! We have only 2 days until the election. This is your last chance to join us as a Voting Ambassador to make sure everyone knows how important it is to vote for Kamala Harris this fall. It’s fully remote and you can earn up to $200. Interested?"

The person who received the message responded, "Yes."

Turnout the Vote then sent a link for the person to apply to be a voting ambassador.

The person responded, "Is it legal to be offering me compensation to to vote a certain way? I just wanna make sure I’m not gonna get in any trouble."

Turnout the Vote responded, "Compensating organizers for their work is important. Compensation is never tied to votes. Have a good one!"

Michael Morley, an election law professor at Florida State University, told PolitiFact that it’s against federal law to offer to pay or make a payment to someone for voting, withholding a vote or voting for or against a particular candidate.

"The main point of it is to try to preserve the integrity of the electoral process and to make sure that people are free to make decisions for themselves, and that the outcomes of elections aren’t being based on money," Morley said. "That’s a very different concern from hiring people to drive voter turnout."

Billionaire Elon Musk has been holding a $1 million daily lottery for registered voters in battleground states, prompting questions about the legality of such a giveaway. A Pennsylvania judge ruled Nov. 4 that the sweepstakes could continue.

We rate the claim that a text message shows Turnout the Vote offering "$200 to vote for Kamala Harris" False.