SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (FOX26) — A new video circulating online appears to show campaign workers gathering signatures for a ballot initiative by offering people $5 to sign.

At one point in the video, the worker tells someone to sign using another person’s name and information.

Video in San Francisco appears to show petition fraud (Courtesy:{ }jj smith{ }X @WAR24182236)

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The video was taken on Monday at Mission and 6th Streets in San Francisco.

A state investigation is underway.

Under California law, it is a crime to offer money or anything of value in exchange for a person’s signature on ballot initiative petitions.

JJ Smith, the man who shot the video, posted on X, “The State Of California has reached out to me concerning this video.”

FOX26 News reached out to “Californians for a More Transparent and Effective Government,” the organization circulating the petition, which replied with the following statement:

Thanks for reaching out. That’s correct that our petitions were seen in the video, and I really want to emphasize that our campaign is absolutely incensed and under no circumstance do we tolerate this type of activity in the signature gathering process. For Better Results specifically, we’ve taken immediate action and have demanded that the signature gathering firm identify these circulators and reject their petitions, full stop. That, and our campaign attorneys are contacting authorities.You may be aware of this, but on background, I also want to point out that the people in the video are “circulators” or subcontractors for petition-gathering firms and are not directly affiliated with our campaign in any way.

We also reached out to the office of the Secretary of State, which said the following:

We are aware of, and investigating, the matter. Under California law, it is illegal to give money or other valuable consideration to another in exchange for their signature on an initiative petition. It is also a crime to circulate, sign and/or file those signed petitions with an election official any initiative petition that is known to include forged names.The California initiative process is an important part of our democracy and those who abuse our system will be held accountable.Comment with Bubbles

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