DOJ Charges California Petition Worker Over Skid Row Voter Payments
On Monday, May 18, 2026, the Justice Department charged 64-year-old Anika Brenda Lee Armstrong with a federal felony for paying people to register to vote on Los Angeles' Skid Row.[1]
Prosecutors say Armstrong paid mostly homeless people $2 to $3 to complete voter registration forms while collecting ballot-initiative signatures.[1] DOJ says she sometimes put a former Los Angeles address on registration forms, which could have sent vote-by-mail ballots to an address where registrants did not live.[1] Armstrong has agreed to plead guilty to one count and faces up to five years in federal prison.[1]
Prosecutors accuse Armstrong of violating a federal law that bars paying another person to register to vote.[1]
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📌 Key Facts
- On Monday, May 18, 2026, DOJ charged Anika Brenda Lee Armstrong, 64, of Marina del Rey with a federal felony for paying people to register to vote.
- Prosecutors allege Armstrong paid mostly homeless individuals on Los Angeles' Skid Row $2 to $3 to complete voter registration forms while she gathered ballot-initiative signatures.
- According to DOJ, Armstrong sometimes listed her former Los Angeles address on registration forms, which could have caused vote-by-mail ballots to be sent to an address where registrants did not live.
- Armstrong has agreed to plead guilty to one count of paying another person to register to vote and faces up to five years in federal prison.
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