Undercover Video Exposes Illegal Petition Payments in LA Skid Row

Undercover journalists captured footage in Los Angeles's Skid Row showing petitioners offering cash, cigarettes, and marijuana to homeless individuals in exchange for signing ballot petitions and completing voter registration forms, an activity that violates both federal and state election laws. The investigation, released earlier this week, documented at least 28 such exchanges near the Weingart Center for the Homeless, a nonprofit that receives substantial public funding.

The footage, obtained by posing as homeless people, reveals petitioners instructing participants to use fictitious addresses, such as "Pinocchio Lane," on registration forms. Many of those approached appeared unaware of the petitions' content, with one petitioner admitting, "I do not know, honestly," when asked about the proposals. The petitions included measures to impose a five percent tax on billionaires to fund healthcare and another to repeal a local $30 minimum wage for hotel and airline workers. Petitioners reported earning $7 to $10 per valid signature, with some claiming daily incomes exceeding $1,000.

Employees at the Weingart Center, which has received over $112 million in taxpayer grants since...