Federal prosecutors allege petition organizer James Brass, 47, paid people on Skid Row to forge registered voters' signatures on California ballot petitions using a February–August 2026 voter database. Brass and two co-defendants were charged in a federal indictment; Brass allegedly received about $41,600 from coordinators tied to a petition-management company. Each charge carries up to five years in federal prison, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Petition Organizer Allegedly Paid Skid Row Residents To Forge Ballot Signatures, Took $41,600, Feds Say
Photo FBI
Federal prosecutors say a Southern California petition organizer allegedly used voter data and paid people living on Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles to copy registered voters' information onto ballot petitions and forge their signatures.
Charges and Arrest
Officials say James Brass, 47, of Victorville — known by the nickname "Lord" — was arrested Sept. 10 after a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging him and two petition circulators. Courtney Price, 49, of Jacksonville, Florida, and Jateisha Herron, 33, of Boron, California, were also charged. The indictment alleges all three conspired to commit identity fraud in furtherance of a state felony; Brass and Price face an additional identity-fraud count.
Alleged Scheme
According to the indictment, the defendants used a voter database from February through August 2026 to identify registered California voters. Prosecutors say Brass and Price brought those voter details to people on Skid Row, paid them to copy the information onto ballot-petition sheets and sign the listed voters' names. Brass and Herron then allegedly signed sworn declarations under penalty of perjury claiming they had personally witnessed the named voters sign.
How The Petitions Were Processed
The charging documents say the completed petition sheets were turned over to several petition coordinators, where signatures would be processed and could be counted toward qualifying measures for the statewide ballot. Prosecutors allege Brass supervised a crew of outside collectors, collected signatures himself and understood that coordinators would generate payments from a petition-management company for petitions he handled.
Money Trail And Public Scrutiny
Federal filings say Brass received approximately $41,600 from coordinators linked to one petition-management firm. That payment trail drew attention on social media, with commenters urging authorities to "follow the money." Prosecutors report they traced payments through the coordinators and that public records currently show the trail ending at those coordinators.
Context: Signature Requirements
The indictment notes the large scale of signature drives in California: a proposed statute needed 546,651 valid signatures to reach the statewide 2026 ballot, while a constitutional amendment required 874,641. Organizers had up to 180 days to collect the necessary signatures, a logistical strain that often leads campaigns to hire petition-management companies that subcontract to outside collectors and coordinators.
Penalties And Presumption Of Innocence
Each charged count carries a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison upon conviction. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
Note: This report summarizes allegations contained in an indictment. It does not determine guilt.
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