California Probes Alleged Paid, False‑Name Signatures for Tech‑Backed Ballot Petitions in San Francisco

California’s secretary of state has opened an investigation after a video from San Francisco showed a signature gatherer allegedly offering $5 for ballot‑measure signatures and instructing people to use specific names and addresses, conduct that would violate state election law. The clip, posted Monday on X, shows a “Sign petition for $5” sign, a line of people, and a circulator telling someone recording the scene to “just sign it” without explaining the measures. At least two of the petitions on the table were for initiatives funded by Building a Better California, a committee bankrolled by wealthy business leaders including Google co‑founder Sergey Brin, who has contributed $20 million to a measure opposing a proposed billionaire tax and backing another on retirement‑tax limits. Spokespeople for both campaigns insist the circulator was hired by a signature‑gathering firm rather than directly by the committee, say they reported the incident themselves once the video surfaced, and claim they are working with officials to reject any petitions tied to falsified information. State law bars offering money or gifts for signatures and criminalizes knowingly circulating or filing petitions with forged names, though election officials emphasize that signatures are cross‑checked against voter files and mismatches are not counted. The case highlights longstanding concerns that per‑signature payment structures and opaque subcontracting in California’s initiative industry can invite fraud, particularly when deep‑pocketed interests are racing to qualify complex tax and fiscal measures for the ballot.