California launches probe after video shows petition gatherers offering money for signatures

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California election officials said Friday that they are investigating whether signature collectors in San Francisco illegally offered to pay people to sign ballot petitions using false names.

A video posted Monday on X shows a sign that says “Sign petition for $5” and a line of people waiting along the sidewalk. A woman sitting at a folding table appears to be instructing the name and address to use to fill out the petition. When the person recording asked what the petitions were 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 place measures on the ballot for voter approval by gathering hundreds of thousands of signatures. Campaigns can pay people per signature they gather, providing an incentive for workers to get as many as possible.

At least one of the petitions seen in the video was for a tech-backed ballot measure to fight a proposed tax on billionaires. It's funded by Building a Better California, a committee started by wealthy business leaders including Google co-founder Sergey Brin, who gave $20 million.

The signature collectors were not directly working for the campaign, said Molly Weedn, a spokesperson for the effort. The campaign was cooperating with authorities to reject the petitions collected with falsified information, she said.

“Under no circumstance do we tolerate this type of activity," Weedn said in a statement. “Our campaign took immediate action and campaign attorneys reported to authorities.”

She said the campaign notified elections officials as soon as the video surfaced.

Another ballot petition funded by Building a Better California for a measure to prohibit new tax on retirement savings also appeared in the video. Spokesperson Nathan Click said the campaign “does not tolerate fraudulent activity in any signature-gathering process.”

“As soon as we became aware of the activities in question, we demanded that our signature-gathering firm identify the petition circulator, reject any and all petitions submitted by this circulator,” Click said in a statement.

There were multiple petitions on the table, and it’s unclear whether they were for any additional campaigns.

Offering money or other gifts in exchange for ballot measure signatures is illegal under the state’s election law, the secretary of state's office said. Signatures on petitions are reviewed and verified against voter registration records, and those that don’t match won’t be counted.

“It is also a crime to circulate, sign and/or file those signed petitions with an election official any initiative petition that is known to include forged names,” the office said in a statement.

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Associated Press journalist Sophie Austin contributed.