James O’Keefe and undercover journalists with O’Keefe Media Group investigated Skid Row in Los Angeles, California while posing as homeless individuals. Hidden camera footage shows petition circulators offering cash, cigarettes, and marijuana in exchange for signatures on California ballot petitions.
On camera, petitioners admitted they are paid $7–$10 per signature, sometimes earning more than $1,000 per day. Meanwhile, many homeless individuals signing the petitions appeared to have no understanding of what they were signing.
One petitioner, Brenda Brown, was recorded handing over cash while distributing voter registration forms.
“We gon’ give you $2.”
“Because you haven’t registered, I need to register you. So I can get paid too. I’M PAYING YOU GUYS, I NEED TO GET PAID TOO.”
Paying someone to register to vote or sign a petition is a federal felony under 52 U.S.C. §10307(c), punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. It also violates California Elections Code §18603, which prohibits offering money or anything of value in exchange for petition signatures.
OMG journalists documented at least 28 cash-for-signature exchanges in just a few days. All of this was happening directly across the street from the Weingart Center, which has received well over $100 million in taxpayer grants since early 2022 — including $112 million in 2022 alone — with over $800 million in net assets. Executives are paid between $400,000 and $600,000 per year, yet the organization has repeatedly missed federal audit deadlines.
Several petitioners said they work for Populus Inc., a political consulting firm tied to C.O. Management Solutions. On camera, they named funders including Uber, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and the American Hotel & Lodging Association.
Petitions included proposals to tax billionaires 5% for healthcare and to overturn Los Angeles’ $30 minimum wage for hotel and airline workers ahead of the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics.
Weingart employees were caught directing the homeless to the petitioners and coaching them on plausible deniability. Intake coordinator Jason Warren told an undercover journalist exactly where and when to find them:
“Most time they be right across the street, under that tree… Monday through Friday.”
Another Weingart employee advised:
“See they say ignorance is no excuse for the law. But a lot of times, I have to say ‘I didn’t know, I had no idea.’”
In 2016, nine individuals were arrested on Skid Row for exchanging cash and cigarettes for signatures; in 2019 they were charged on 14 counts under the exact same California Elections Code section.
Yet when confronted, nearby LAPD officers dismissed the activity as “a civil lawsuit.”
“Paying per signature violates state election law and is evidence of election fraud in California,” the investigation concludes. “On Skid Row, we captured conduct on tape that may violate federal law 52 U.S. Code §10307 and state law California Election Code §18603.”
The full undercover footage, hidden-camera audio, 990 filings, and supporting documentation are now public.
Part II is coming soon.
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