People living on Los Angeles’ Skid Row say they were pressured to complete multiple voter registration forms, fake signatures, and accept cash from individuals they described as working with “political partners.”
The allegations surfaced in a set of videos posted Thursday by TheVoiceofLA, an Instagram account recognized for its interviews on Skid Row, the heart of the city’s largest homeless population.
The posts appeared the same day federal officials moved to suspend funding for the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, or LAHSA, citing major concerns over the agency’s financial controls and oversight.
In one interview, a woman said the people behind the alleged registration effort were “working for political partners” when asked whether they had political ties. She added that those filling out the forms were not given much information about who was behind the operation.
She also claimed participants were warned not to make errors and were encouraged to change their handwriting. In the video, she described being told not to let one signature resemble another and said they were even asked whether they could write with their other hand or “with your foot.”
The woman further alleged that money was offered in exchange for completing the paperwork. Asked how many ballots she would sign at one time, she replied: “Four or five. It depends.”
The California Post was unable to independently verify the allegations made in the videos.
In another video posted Thursday, a woman claimed she was approached by a man while riding a train who offered to pay her to sign election-related paperwork. “I want to pay you to vote,” she recalled the man telling her.
The woman said she informed him she was not a registered voter. She said the person then followed her on the train. “He pulled out his phone and said, ‘Do you got nice penmanship?’” she said. “He showed me a name and said he wanted me to write the name on a form and sign it and he’d pay me.”
The woman said she refused. “He was trying to pay me to do voter fraud,” she said. “And I’m not doing that.”
The new allegations follow interviews published Tuesday by the same account in which multiple Skid Row residents made similar allegations. One woman claimed she had been paid to complete multiple ballots and was instructed to vary signatures.
According to several residents interviewed on camera, outreach workers allegedly visited the area three to five times a week before the election, with multiple organizations purportedly involved.
Another resident, identified as Mark Sanchez, claimed he was repeatedly approached by political canvassers.
“To sign a petition for the mayor or different things in office and they paid me $4 or $5,” Sanchez alleged.
“It happened more than four or five times.”
The videos began circulating as vote counting continued in the Los Angeles mayoral race.
The California Post was unable to independently verify the claims made in those videos as well.
