SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California election officials said Friday they are investigating whether signature gatherers in San Francisco illegally paid people to use fake names to sign ballot petitions.
A video posted on X on Monday showed a sign reading “Sign the petition for only $5” and people waiting in line on the sidewalk. A woman sitting at a folding table appeared to be giving instructions on the names and addresses to use when filling out the petition. When the recorder asked what the petition was for, the woman said, “Just sign it.”
The California Secretary of State’s office said in a statement that it was “aware of and investigating the matter.”
In California, people can put measures on the ballot to win voter approval by gathering hundreds of thousands of signatures. Campaigns can pay people based on the signatures they collect, thus incentivizing workers to get as many signatures as possible.
At least one petition seen in the video is calling for a tech-backed ballot measure to oppose proposals to tax billionaires. It is funded by Building a Better California, a committee started by wealthy business leaders, including Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who donated $20 million.
Molly Weedn, a spokesperson for the campaign, said the signature collectors do not work directly for the campaign. She said the movement was cooperating with authorities and rejecting petitions with falsified information.
“We will not tolerate this type of activity under any circumstances,” Weeden said in a statement. “Our campaign took immediate action and campaign attorneys reported the situation to authorities.”
She said the campaign notified election officials as soon as the video emerged.
Also featured in the video is another ballot petition funded by Building a Better California calling for a measure that would ban new taxes on retirement savings. Spokesman Nathan Click said the campaign “will not tolerate any fraudulent activity in the signature collection process.”
“As soon as we became aware of the activity, we asked our signature collection company to identify the person circulating the petition and reject all petitions submitted by that person,” Kerik said in a statement.
There were multiple petitions on the table and it was unclear if they were for any other events.
The secretary of state’s office said it is illegal under the state’s election laws to offer money or other gifts in exchange for signatures on ballot measures. Signatures on the petition will be reviewed and verified against voter registration records, and mismatched signatures will not be counted.
“It is also a crime to distribute, sign and/or submit signed petitions and initiative petitions known to contain falsified names to election officials,” the office said in a statement.
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Associated Press reporter Sophie Austin contributed.
