California woman illegally paid homeless people on Skid Row to register to vote

A 64-year-old woman admitted to violating election laws by paying homeless people on Skid Row in Los Angeles to register to vote.

Brenda Lee Brown Armstrong worked as a paid petition signature gatherer for about two decades, according to a press release from the U.S.

'Armstrong regularly paid and offered to pay individuals cash, usually in amounts between $2 and $3, to induce them to sign her petitions.'

Armstrong, who is known as "Anika," has agreed to plead guilty to one felony count of paying another person to register to vote.

She said she was hired by "coordinators" to "collect voter signatures on official petitions that qualify initiatives, referendums, and recalls for California state ballots."

Armstrong would drive around Los Angeles and seek signatures from registered voters and receive payment for each signature. To make the job easier, she began paying homeless people in the Skid Row area to sign.

"Armstrong regularly paid and offered to pay individuals cash, usually in amounts between $2 and $3, to induce them to sign her petitions," prosecutors said.

Since the homeless people did not have a residence, Armstrong would have them register as voters under her previous address. Armstrong also paid them to register as voters.

"This case is important because it shows how it is under California law to corrupt the state's voter rolls and thereby corrupt the state and federal elections administered by the state," DOJ Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said at a media briefing.

U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli indicated that prosecutors depended on independent journalism from James O'Keefe to identify Armstrong and catch her in the act.

"California's lax attitude towards voter registration endangers our democracy. We won't stand by when ballot box corruption threatens the foundations of our republic," Essayli said.

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Armstrong faces a statutory maximum penalty of five years in federal prison for the felony charge.

"False registrations undermine Americans’ faith in elections — even more so when payoffs are involved," Dhillon said.

"This Justice Department is committed to ensuring that all U.S. elections are fair and free from illegal meddling," she added, "so that all Americans can accept the results with confidence."

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