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State investigating apparent voter petition fraud tied to SLO County

March 14, 2026

By KAREN VELIE

The California Secretary of State is investigating apparent voter petition fraud after a video showing a signature gatherer directing a homeless individual to sign the name of a woman from Avila Beach for a $5 payment last week went viral.

While it is legal for petitioners to pay people to gather signatures, it is illegal to offer money or other incentives in exchange for signing a petition or to ask someone to sign for another person. In addition, the signature gatherers are required to explain or allow potential signers to read about the proposed ballot measure.

While only registered voters can sign petitions, in the viral video a signature gatherer is telling the signer what name and address to put on the petition while failing to tell them what the petitions are about.

https://twitter.com/war24182236/status/2031116014361211312

On one page, there were five people listed from San Luis Obispo County including former Tribune reporter Robert Cuddy.

After learning of the video, San Luis Obispo County Clerk-Recorder Elaina Cano contacted the California Secretary of State’s Office, which then opened an investigation, Cano said in a press release.

The ballot initiative process gives Californians a way to propose laws and constitutional amendments without the support of the governor or the legislature.

The signature gatherers were working for three groups: Building a Better California, Californians for a More Transparent and Effective Government and the Retirement and Personal Savings Protection Act campaign. The petitions included cancellation of the wealth tax, ban on new taxes on retirement holdings and personal savings and a bond for affordable housing.

The groups said they will reject any petitions tied to the alleged fraudulent signature gathering.

Even so, the viral video has raised serious questions about the integrity of petition processes in California, especially for ballot measures or initiatives requiring verified voter signatures.

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but some how individuals dropping off stacks of ballots, often at night, into drop boxes is not an issue, got it.


7

If you have to cheat it means you know you can’t win…


9

Glad they are investigating. Petitions, when submitted, are checked with the voter roll to make sure they vote in the relevant jurisdiction and the signatures are also checked, so there is very little chance of fraud slipping through. Disappointing that the final sentence disparages citizen ballot measure petitions because there have been many local petitions that are exercising direct democracy legitimately. The bad guys are the signer and circulator who may have been paid for signatures, well over $5 per signature.


13

So I get a post card in the mail this week with my name and address on it saying I will receive a absentee ballot in”my” name at this address. If I no longer live here please send the post card back to the county. So, this is the method of verifying a legal “mail in ballot” “person and address”? It says if it is “me” and this is the “correct address”, I do not have to do anything but wait and receive the mail in ballot, fill it out and mail it back to county before election day. WHAT????


23

Was my original comment taken down? In any case, I’m curious about why you would post a screenshot with potentially identifiable voter data. Also, I think it’s important to point out that signatures are verified at the county elections offices. In other words, while the video appears (if authentic, not staged) to show people forging voter signatures, there are mechanisms in place to protect against any forged signature actually being used to qualify a petition.


7

An ostrich says what?


-8

I agree with Clausen. If I were opposed to whatever ballot measure this is, what better way to discredit proponents than to submit obviously forged petition signatures in support of that measure. The signatures will clearly not be counted, and will implicate proponents in fraud. A serious investigation should certainly look at opponents of the measure as the likely perps in this fraud.


13

This is what our YUTES are being taught, its ok to cheat


38

Follow the money right to ‘ The Tech Bros.” The petitioners are funded by “Building a Better California, an advocacy group with an associated political action committee (PAC) founded with $35 million in funding from Google co-founder Sergey Brin, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, and numerous other billionaires.”


The ‘tech bros’ are backing anti-tax GOP candidates, bigly outspending the few Dem billionaires !

“The “Californians for a More Transparent and Effective Government” is funded by ‘Building a Better California’ <it has> has received multimillion-dollar contributions from Sergey Brin, Eric Schmidt, and Patrick Collison. The move comes as new data show 300 billionaires spent $3 billion on the 2024 federal elections, underscoring their growing political muscle.”


We owe people like San Luis Obispo County Clerk-Recorder Elaina Cano a lot of thanks for reporting this fraud by billionaires.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/insight/billionaire-mailers-target-california-tax-proposal/gm-GMBD09FF97


20

The same Cano that was letting a dog vote in multiple elections and refused to clean voter rolls for years?? Get real


6

Democrats have done this for decades, it’s the Chicago way. Without the cheat they would never win a national election again. Ever————


36

Only democrats cheat???? Examples and proof please.


-15

The Learing Contentions .


29