Elon Musk says voting by mail is ‘insane’ — but he has done it himself, records show

Elon Musk has attacked voting by mail as an “insane” idea that encourages election fraud, but he voted by mail twice when he lived in California, according to records of his voting history obtained by NBC News.

Musk voted by mail in November 2016, the year Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton, and in the November 2018 midterm election, the records show. Musk’s primary residence was in Los Angeles at the time.

The state records show that Musk had a sparse history of voting in California. During the 18 years he was eligible to vote there, he cast ballots in only those two elections. He became eligible to vote when he became a U.S. citizen in 2002 and cast his first ballot 14 years later, at age 45. He was actively registered to vote by August 2006, the records show.

Among the elections Musk skipped were presidential races in which Barack Obama, John McCain and Mitt Romney were on the ballot, all primary elections and all local elections. California has an open primary system in which all registered voters are allowed to participate.

This is the first time Musk’s California voting records have been made public. NBC News obtained the history through a public records request to the California secretary of state’s office. The office initially declined the request for Musk’s voter file, saying it doesn’t provide records for canceled registrations. It later reversed the decision.

Musk canceled his registration in the state in August 2020, according to his voter file. He announced at a conference in December 2020 that he had moved to Texas.

NBC News sought comment from Musk about his voting history and his past statements about mail-in ballots. In an email, he didn’t address his votes but stood by his view about voter