Voter Registration Fraud Sentencing
Marina del Rey Woman to Be Sentenced for Paying Skid Row Homeless to Register
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A Marina del Rey woman faces sentencing for paying homeless people $2 to $3 each to register to vote in downtown Los Angeles. Brenda Lee Brown Armstrong pleaded guilty in June to paying someone to register — a federal crime that can result in up to five years in prison, Press Telegram reported.
Armstrong spent nearly 20 years as a petition circulator, collecting voter signatures for California ballot initiatives. She regularly paid people $1 to $2 per signature. Prosecutors say she targeted Skid Row because homeless individuals were an easy source of signatures and voter registrations.
Two Decades Collecting Signatures for Ballot Measures
Armstrong's career as a petition circulator spanned nearly 20 years. Her job was to collect voter signatures on official petitions that qualify ballot initiatives for California state ballots. She was paid for each signature she gathered and routinely paid people $1 to $2 to sign her petitions, Daily News reported.
Why Skid Row Became a Targeting Ground
Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles has one of the highest concentrations of homeless people in the nation. Prosecutors allege Armstrong saw this area as a convenient place to collect both petition signatures and voter registrations. The homeless population there offered a quick and steady stream of targets for her scheme.
Federal Crime Carries Prison Time
Under federal law, paying someone to register to vote is illegal. Armstrong's guilty plea to one count of this offense opens her to a penalty of up to five years in federal prison. The charge reflects the serious nature of voter registration fraud in the eyes of federal prosecutors and judges, Press Enterprise reported.
Questions Linger Over Voting Integrity
The case raises concerns about how ballot initiatives are promoted and how voter registrations are collected in vulnerable communities. While Armstrong worked as a petition circulator for years without prosecution, her eventual guilty plea signals that authorities are now scrutinizing these practices more closely, OC Register reported.
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