"THEY'RE CAUGHT': California Elections Fraud Exposed — This Is MINDBLOWING"
Los Angeles, California - June 10, 2026
Los Angeles Petition Circulator Agrees to Plead Guilty to Paying Individuals to Register to Vote
A longtime Los Angeles County petition circulator has agreed to plead guilty to a federal charge of paying another person to register to vote. Brenda Lee Brown Armstrong, 64, of Marina del Rey, also known as “Anika,” faces a potential sentence of up to five years in federal prison if the plea is accepted by the court.
Armstrong is scheduled to appear in federal court in Santa Ana on Monday. Court documents describe her as having worked for nearly two decades collecting signatures for initiatives, referendums, and recalls to qualify measures for California ballots. She was compensated by coordinators based on the number of valid signatures obtained from registered voters.
Federal prosecutors allege that Armstrong targeted areas with large numbers of individuals willing to sign in exchange for payment, including Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles. According to the plea agreement, she regularly paid between $2 and $3 to induce people to sign petitions. When some individuals lacked a permanent address, she reportedly instructed them at times to use one of her former Los Angeles addresses on voter registration forms. Those forms registered the individuals for both California and federal elections.
Federal Officials Comment on the Case
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli described the case during a news conference.
“This is not an allegation, this is not a theory, this is an example of admitted voter fraud,” Essayli said.
He stated that federal authorities intend to pursue election-related crimes aggressively. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon emphasized that false voter registrations can undermine public confidence in elections and that the Justice Department remains committed to ensuring elections are conducted fairly and without illegal interference.
Connection to Video Investigation and Broader Efforts
The case received attention after video footage recorded by conservative journalist James O’Keefe appeared to show cash being handed to a homeless individual. O’Keefe stated on social media that his investigation contributed to Armstrong being charged earlier this year.
The guilty plea occurs alongside a separate Justice Department lawsuit against California Secretary of State Shirley Weber. Federal officials are seeking access to the state’s unredacted voter file, including names, addresses, driver’s license numbers, and portions of Social Security numbers. The department argues the information is needed under provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1960, the Help America Vote Act, and the National Voter Registration Act.
A federal judge in Santa Ana dismissed the lawsuit in January, determining that release of the information would violate federal privacy protections. State officials argued the request was intended to assist with immigration enforcement rather than election oversight. The Justice Department has appealed the decision, with arguments scheduled before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Pasadena.
Armstrong’s plea represents one of the more prominent federal voter fraud prosecutions tied to petition circulation in California in recent years. Federal prosecutors have not indicated whether additional individuals connected to the matter may face charges as the investigation continues.
Nearly 150,000 California Mail Ballots Rejected In Primary
California election officials are examining why nearly 150,000 mail-in ballots were rejected during the state’s June primary, with late-arriving ballots accounting for most of the increase.
The higher rejection rate comes despite years of election law changes designed to make voting more accessible and ensure more ballots are ultimately counted.
According to data compiled by the California Secretary of State’s office, 148,241 mail-in ballots were rejected during the June primary, representing 1.73% of all mail ballots returned.
That marks an increase from the 2024 primary, when 108,982 ballots were rejected, or 1.56% of all mail ballots cast.
The largest reason for rejection was ballots arriving too late to qualify under California law.
State data shows that 93,479 ballots were rejected because they failed to meet the state’s deadline requirements.
California allows mail ballots to arrive up to seven days after Election Day, provided they are postmarked on or before Election Day.
Voting experts believe many of the rejected ballots received postmarks dated after Election Day, making them ineligible to be counted even if they arrived within the seven-day grace period.
Kim Alexander, president of the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation, said the timing of postal processing appears to be a significant concern.
“Ballots rejected due to lateness are caused primarily to being postmarked too late to count, not because they arrived too late to count,” Alexander said.
Election experts have questioned whether recent operational changes within the U.S. Postal Service may be contributing to delayed postmarks.
Earlier this year, a group of mostly Democratic U.S. senators wrote to the Postal Service expressing concern that mail-processing changes could affect ballot handling during federal elections.
Updated Postal Service procedures mean postmarks may reflect when mail is processed at regional facilities rather than when it first enters the mail system.
Because processing centers have been consolidated in some areas, election officials have warned that postmark timing could be affected.
Before the June primary, California election officials encouraged voters to mail ballots as early as possible because of potential postal delays.
The June election also featured a highly competitive race for governor, which some experts believe encouraged many voters to wait until the final days before casting ballots.
In addition to late-arriving ballots, approximately 44,000 ballots were rejected because election officials determined the voter’s signature did not match the signature on file.
Another 8,300 ballots were rejected because the return envelope did not contain a signature.
State records also show that 743 ballots were rejected because those voters had already cast another ballot.
Other rejected ballots involved missing ballots inside return envelopes or multiple ballots submitted in a single envelope.
The highest rejection rate in the state occurred in Tulare County, where 3.52% of returned mail ballots were rejected.
Alpine County and Merced County followed closely, each recording rejection rates of 3.36%.
California has frequently faced criticism for taking weeks to complete vote counting after major elections, largely because state law permits ballots meeting certain requirements to continue arriving after Election Day.
Following the June primary, President Donald Trump again criticized California’s election system, while the Department of Justice opened an investigation into election administration in Los Angeles County.
Election experts emphasize that the increase in rejected ballots should not be interpreted as evidence of widespread voter fraud.
A 2025 report by the Brookings Institution found documented cases of mail ballot fraud remained extremely rare, estimating roughly four cases for every 10 million mail ballots cast, The Associated Press reported.
State officials have not identified evidence of widespread fraud connected to the June primary, but the increase in rejected ballots is expected to receive additional scrutiny as election administrators evaluate whether changes in postal operations, voter behavior or election procedures contributed to the higher rejection rate.
