A 64-year-old woman has agreed to plead guilty to one felony count of paying another person to register to vote, federal prosecutors announced today. Brenda Lee Brown Armstrong, known as “Anika,” worked as a paid petition signature gatherer for approximately two decades.
According to prosecutors, Armstrong regularly paid and offered cash payments of between $2 and $3 per individual to induce homeless people on Los Angeles’ Skid Row to sign her petitions. She would then have them register as voters using her previous address, as they lacked residential information.
“This case is critical because it demonstrates how California law can be exploited to corrupt the state’s voter rolls and thereby undermine state and federal elections,” said U.S. DOJ Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon at a media briefing.
U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli noted that prosecutors uncovered Armstrong’s scheme through meticulous investigative efforts, highlighting the dangers of California’s lax voter registration practices.
Armstrong faces up to five years in federal prison for the felony charge. Prosecutors emphasized that such actions erode public confidence in elections and violate democratic principles.
