Federal authorities charged three people on Sept. 10 in the second major bust this year involving petition collectors paying homeless people in downtown Los Angeles to use stolen identities to sign ballot initiative petitions.
In this case, two Californians and one Floridian were arrested and charged with one count of conspiracy to commit identity fraud in furtherance of a state felony, according to First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli.
The arrests are part of a statewide federal operation to crack down on election fraud announced on Sept. 5.
“The charged conduct undermines the confidence voters have in our election systems,” Essayli said in a post on X. “We will vigorously investigate and charge anyone involved in corrupting our elections.”…