It never happens, as all of those watching CNN, reading the New York Times or listening to Democrat politicians know full well.
We’re talking election fraud —or, in this case, ballot initiative signature fraud —and it never happens... except when it does.
As we reported in May, OMG Media’s James O’Keefe and Turning Point USA’s Savanah Hernandez both went to Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles and discovered something quite eye-opening: petition circulators offering cash, cigarettes, and marijuana in exchange for signatures on California ballot petitions. The canvassers themselves were being paid, and they in turn gave cash to the ballot signers, who used fake identities culled from voter records. The signers had no idea what they were falsely autographing — they just wanted the cigarettes.
Paying someone to register to vote or sign a petition is a crime, as is using a fraudulent identity.
Fast forward to Thursday, when First U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli announced that the DOJ had taken notice of the operations. They’re taking action to clamp down on these fraudulent activities and hold the perps to account.
California Election Fraud Update:
— F.A. United States Attorney Bill Essayli (@USAttyEssayli) September 10, 2026
James Brass, 47, of Victorville, was arrested today on a federal indictment charging him with paying people on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles to sign petitions using stolen identities of registered voters to qualify initiatives on ballots in… https://t.co/TqzEtO51DK
Essayli's tweet continues:
California Election Fraud Update:
James Brass, 47, of Victorville, was arrested today on a federal indictment charging him with paying people on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles to sign petitions using stolen identities of registered voters to qualify initiatives on ballots in California elections.
Brass is expected to make his initial appearance this afternoon in United States District Court in Riverside.
Also charged in the two-count indictment are two petition circulators who worked for Brass: Courtney Price, 49, of Jacksonville, Florida, and Jateisha Herron, 33, of Boron, California.
All three defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit identity fraud in furtherance of a state felony. Brass and Price are charged with an additional count of identity fraud in furtherance of a state felony.
The charged conduct undermines the confidence voters have in our election systems. We will vigorously investigate and charge anyone involved in corrupting our elections.
This is not the only time operations like this have been exposed in Skid Row: in May, a Los Angeles woman named Brenda Lee Brown Armstrong agreed to a plea deal and admitted that she paid homeless people to register to vote in federal elections.
Signature gathering is a lucrative business in the Golden State, because ballot initiatives —often backed by heavy hitters — must receive hundreds of thousands of autographs in order to make the ballot for election time.
An example of a hugely consequential initiative: the proposed California wealth tax (Proposition 40), which would heavily penalize anyone worth over a billion dollars. It made the ballot in June, and voters will decide whether to send more wealthy taxpayers fleeing to other states or take a step toward sanity. (There has been no accusation that fraud occurred in this case; it’s just an example of how important ballot initiatives are to the future of the Golden State.)
But fraud happens, evidently:
James Brass, 47, a.k.a. “Lord,” of Victorville, was arrested this morning on a two-count federal indictment charging him and two other defendants with paying people on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles to sign petitions using stolen identities of registered voters to qualify… pic.twitter.com/yqQ1cBOVI1
— US Attorney L.A. (@USAO_LosAngeles) September 10, 2026
James Brass, 47, a.k.a. “Lord,” of Victorville, was arrested this morning on a two-count federal indictment charging him and two other defendants with paying people on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles to sign petitions using stolen identities of registered voters to qualify initiatives on ballots in California elections. Brass is expected to make his initial appearance and be arraigned later today in U.S. District Court in Riverside.
It never happens… except those pesky times when it does. Although we’re still at the “allegedly” stage until the suspects are (potentially) convicted, it sure looks like fraud in our political process went down here.
Editor’s Note: Republicans are fighting for election integrity by requiring proper identification to vote. It's common sense, yet Democrats are spreading lies about the impact of such a measure.
Help us continue to call out these lies by joining RedState VIP and using promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
Join the Conversation
VIP members get the ability to comment on articles.