Texas Majority PAC operative says group paid $25 for Zoom attendance, calls it a 'roundabout' vote payment
Coveragetap to expand ▾Spectrum: Mostly Center🌍US: 1 · Other: 1
- Sky MacAdams said Texas Majority PAC is "paying people $25 to attend a one-hour Zoom class to learn why voting is important" (per nypost.com).
- The Zoom classes reportedly discuss what MacAdams called the "bad things" Republicans are doing (per nypost.com).
- The practice was described in the article as part of a "paid relational program" that compensates low-propensity voters "for their time as they reach, persuade, and mobilize" (per nypost.com).
An undercover video published by Townhall and reported by nypost.com captured Sky MacAdams, an organizing manager for Texas Majority PAC, describing a program that pays $25 to people who attend one-hour Zoom classes about "why voting is important" and criticisms of Republicans.
MacAdams told the undercover interviewer that Texas Majority PAC is "paying people $25 to attend a one-hour Zoom class to learn why voting is important and why the Republicans are causing all of these bad things," and added this was "like a roundabout way of paying people for their votes," calling it "a bit of a 'gray' area" (per nypost.com).
The article also characterizes the effort as a "paid relational program" aimed at compensating low-propensity voters "for their time as they reach, persuade, and mobilize" (per nypost.com).
The reporting highlights a legal tension: nypost.com notes federal law prohibits payments given in exchange for votes, which frames MacAdams's description as potentially problematic (per nypost.com).
The account in the undercover footage is presented as an admission by an operative rather than an official policy statement from Texas Majority PAC; the source reproduces MacAdams's words and the outlet frames them as an allegation of impropriety (per nypost.com).
The piece does not include a response from Texas Majority PAC in the sourced excerpt and does not supply documentary evidence of payments beyond MacAdams's on-camera statements (per nypost.com).
Why this matters now: elections in Texas include competitive Senate and governor's races, and the nypost.com story situates the disclosed practice as relevant to voter mobilization ahead of those contests (per nypost.com).
The account raises questions about where outreach ends and unlawful vote payments begin; the article signals federal law against buying votes but leaves unresolved whether the described $25 Zoom stipend constitutes an illegal exchange in practice (per nypost.com).
Readers should distinguish between what MacAdams claimed on camera and what has been verified: the reporting documents his statement and the program framing but does not provide independent records of payments to named attendees or legal findings about the program (per nypost.com).
- Specific voters in Texas bear the concrete cost: low-propensity voters are being paid $25 for Zoom attendance, a direct cash incentive tied to civic engagement activities (per nypost.com).
- Texas Majority PAC, as the organizing group named by the operative, benefits from a paid relational program that aims to recruit and mobilize those same voters (per nypost.com).
- Federal election law is the enforcement mechanism at stake: the reported practice intersects with statutes that prohibit payments in exchange for votes, exposing the PAC to potential legal scrutiny (per nypost.com).
- Whether Texas Majority PAC issues an official response or clarification addressing Sky MacAdams's statements in the undercover footage (per nypost.com).
- Whether any state or federal election enforcement authority opens an inquiry into whether payments for Zoom attendance constituted payments in exchange for votes (per nypost.com).
- Whether additional evidence—such as payment records or testimony from attendees—emerges to corroborate or refute MacAdams's description of the program (per nypost.com).
Left- and right-leaning outlets are covering this story differently — in which facts to emphasize, which context to include, and how to frame causes and consequences.
7 specific areas where coverage diverges — see below.
- Only nypost.com is in this source pack; it frames MacAdams's on-camera remarks as an allegation the PAC paid $25 for Zoom attendance and emphasizes potential conflict with federal law (per nypost.com).
- No source in this pack disputes MacAdams's account; the report presents his statements but does not independently verify payments or include a PAC response (per nypost.com).
- No source here provides a statement from Texas Majority PAC denying or confirming the practice; a direct organizational response is missing.
- No source in this pack includes payment records, attendee testimony, or other documentary proof that $25 was actually paid to named individuals.
- No source mentions whether any state or federal election enforcement body has been notified or has opened an investigation regarding the alleged payments.
- nypost.com reports the $25 payment figure (per nypost.com).
- nypost.com reports MacAdams characterizing the payments as a way to secure votes, but the source does not document a confirmed causal chain from payment to cast ballots (per nypost.com).
- The allegation that payments were used to mobilize votes is attributed to Sky MacAdams speaking on camera; the article does not attribute the claim to Texas Majority PAC leadership or independent verification (per nypost.com).