California Investigates SF Ballot Petition Fraud Caught on Viral Video

A street videographer's footage from the corner of 6th and Mission has set off a statewide election fraud investigation after it appeared to show signature collectors coaching people to sign ballot petitions under other voters' names in exchange for $5.

The video, posted by self-described street videographer JJ Smith, shows a long queue of people leading to a table where a woman, using a highlighter, directs each person on which name and address to use from lists of apparent registered voter information. When Smith asks "I get $5 too?" the woman replies "Yeah," then instructs the signer: "Just sign it." Smith described the people waiting in line as those who are "down on their luck," and told reporters the same group had been operating in the area four days before he filmed them.

The California Secretary of State's office responded with a formal statement citing two distinct crimes under state law. "Under California law, it is illegal to give money or other valuable consideration to another in exchange for their signature on an initiative petition," a spokesperson said. "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 encouraged anyone with information to contact it directly.

Three ballot campaigns confirmed their petitions were among those being circulated by the collectors shown in Smith's video. Two are billionaire-backed anti-tax efforts: Building a Better California, backed by Sergey Brin, and Californians for a More Transparent and Effective Government. The third is the Retirement and Personal Savings Protection Act of 2026. Spokespeople for all three said the circulators were subcontractors for unnamed signature-gathering firms and were not directly affiliated with the campaigns. At least one campaign said it has demanded the firm identify the people involved and reject their petitions, with campaign attorneys now contacting authorities.

The stakes are considerable for Building a Better California, which needs roughly 874,000 valid signatures by June for each of four initiatives it is sponsoring to qualify for the ballot. Political analyst Paul Mitchell noted, however, that any signatures gathered through the methods shown in the video would never have been valid. "Everybody across the spectrum understands both that these signatures would not have counted towards the qualification," Mitchell said, adding that "the folks who are running these statewide ballot measures haven't done their due diligence to stop this kind of practice from happening."

San Luis Obispo County, whose voters appear on some of the registration lists shown in the video, moved quickly after viewing the footage. Erin Clausen, public information officer for the county clerk's office, said the county initiated an investigation through the fraud unit of the California Secretary of State's office and plans to contact voters who were specifically identified in the video. While voter registration data can be legally requested from county election offices, Clausen noted the data in this case may have been used inappropriately. County Clerk-Recorder Elaina Cano stated plainly: "The activity shown in the video, if verified, would violate California election law."

The video also drew calls from state Republicans for a broader probe. Assemblymember David Tangipa of Fresno wrote on X, "We are looking into this ASAP and will explore further action," while Yolo County prosecutor Jeff Reisig called on local and state officials directly: "This matter deserves a full investigation by the SF DA and the state AG."

No criminal charges have been filed as of this reporting, and no forged signatures are confirmed to have been submitted to election officials.