San Francisco and state election officials have launched an investigation after a viral street video appeared to show petition circulators handing out cash to people on the sidewalk in exchange for signatures, and in some clips coaching signers to write down other people’s names and addresses. The footage has rattled campaigns and election overseers because it seems to show coordinated, pay-for-signature activity near a busy downtown corner. Campaigns whose petitions appear in the video say they have pulled in lawyers and investigators to track down any questionable sheets and toss them out.
The clip, posted on X and picked up by local outlets, shows a sign that reads "Sign petition for $5" and a line of people queued up to participate, according to ABC7 San Francisco. The California Secretary of State’s office told reporters it was "aware of, and investigating, the matter" and urged anyone who knows more about what happened to come forward.
Viral Video Shot At Sixth And Mission
The video was recorded by street videographer Omar Ward, who goes by JJ Smith online, at about 1:54 PM on the corner of Sixth and Mission streets. It shows petition circulators telling signers which name and address to write down, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. In one scene, a circulator appears to point out a line on a sheet and tell a signer to use the name of an 81-year-old resident from Avila Beach, according to the Chronicle’s account. The videographer told local TV he watched the group for hours and later spoke with investigators about what he saw.
Campaigns Condemn The Tactics And Demand Answers
Campaigns tied to at least two of the petitions, including a tech-backed effort opposing a proposed billionaire tax, said the collectors in the clip were hired contractors, not campaign staff. They said they have told their signature-gathering firms to identify the circulator and reject any petitions that look suspicious, ABC7 San Francisco reported. Spokespeople called the behavior unacceptable and said campaign attorneys had already notified authorities. One campaign spokesman said the group moved quickly to make sure any forged or falsified petitions would not be submitted.
What Officials Say About The Law
A spokesman for the Secretary of State told KCRA that offering money or other gifts for signatures on a ballot measure petition is illegal under California law, and that circulating, signing or filing petitions that are known to contain forged names can also be a crime. County elections offices will review submitted petitions and verify signatures against voter registration records using random-sampling or full-verification procedures laid out by the Secretary of State, so sheets with names that do not match or that are forged will not be counted, according to guidance from the California Secretary of State.
Why This Matters
Paid signature drives are a standard, if frequently debated, feature of California’s initiative system. Collectors are often paid per signature, and rates can fluctuate, and in past cases schemes that focused on unhoused or otherwise vulnerable people have led to felony charges, the San Francisco Chronicle notes. At least one of the petitions seen in the video is tied to Building a Better California, a committee backed by wealthy business leaders. National reporting has flagged large donations to that effort, including a $20 million contribution cited by AP. Election experts have long said the mix of payment incentives and access to detailed voter information creates a recurring risk of fraud.
What Comes Next
Investigators have started interviewing witnesses and the videographer, and campaigns say they will refuse to accept any petition sheets linked to the people caught on camera, KCRA reports. If county officials find sheets with forged or non-matching names, those signatures will be thrown out, and prosecutors could file charges in cases where they see evidence of intentional fraud. The Secretary of State is continuing to ask anyone with information about the incident to contact its elections division.
