California Petition Worker Charged in Alleged Skid Row Voter Signature Scheme

A California ballot petition worker has been arrested and charged with identity fraud over allegations that he paid people on Los Angeles’ Skid Row to forge registered voters’ signatures.

Prosecutors say James Brass, 47, organized the scheme with assistance from two signature collectors, Courtney Price, 49, and Jateisha Herron, 33.

In California, proposed statutes and constitutional amendments must collect a required number of valid signatures by a set deadline to qualify for the ballot.

Brass was hired by an unidentified petition management company that paid a set amount for each signature collected, according to the allegations. The specific ballot measure involved has not been disclosed.

Brass, Price and Herron traveled throughout Southern California, including to Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles, to recruit participants, according to a grand jury indictment filed in a California court.

The three allegedly searched a public database for the names and personal information of registered California voters, then directed people on Skid Row to sign petitions using those voters’ identities.

Brass allegedly tried to hide where the signatures were being collected. He instructed Herron to “never ever say” downtown Los Angeles and instead refer to Inglewood and Torrance.

According to the indictment, Brass received a total of $41,000 from the operation.

Brass, Price and Herron have each been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit identity fraud. Brass and Herron also face separate identity fraud charges.

Brass has reportedly pleaded not guilty and was released from custody on a $10,000 bond.

“They allegedly used people, including members of Skid Row’s vulnerable homeless population, to try to cover up their tracks,” prosecutor Bill Essayli said in a statement. “The charged conduct undermines the confidence voters have in our election systems and we will vigorously investigate and charge anyone involved.”

The arrests follow a separate case months earlier in which Brenda Armstrong, 64, pleaded guilty to paying people on Skid Row to register to vote and sign her petitions.

In San Francisco, petition canvassers were also reported this year to have offered cash and food to homeless people in the Tenderloin neighborhood in exchange for signatures. Some of the alleged interactions appeared in viral social media videos and prompted a city investigation.

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