FBI agents probe LA’s Skid Row in voter fraud investigation

The FBI is now investigating voter fraud in Los Angeles.

Federal agents descended on the streets of Skid Row in downtown LA Thursday following allegations that the homeless had been paid to vote in the June 2 primary.

About 20 agents swooped in on the notoriously blighted area after homeless people staying there claimed they’d been bribed with cash to sign multiple registration forms, forge signatures, and fill out voter information for the mayoral and gubernatorial primaries.

The California Post looked on as plainclothes agents questioned Skid Row residents, asking them if they were paid to vote or were aware of others who were approached with the offer.

The Department of Justice would only confirm that federal agents were investigating a ”criminal matter,” as officers conducted up to 50 interviews.

It marked a major escalation in the feds’ probe of voting in Los Angeles, with FBI Director Kash Patel applauding the action.

“Securing our elections is of the upmost priority for this FBI!” he wrote on X. “If you mess with our elections we will find you!”

The action came a day after the LA City Council voted to move forward with a controversial proposal introduced by a socialist councilmembers to allow immigrant noncitizens vote in city and school board elections.

“It just does not make sense to me that someone who moves to Los Angeles for a temporary job has more of a voice than a parent who has been here for decades raising their children through public schools,”  said Democrat Socialists of America-backed Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martínez.

The FBI probe followed the emergence of shocking videos the week after Election Day of Skid Row residents claiming they were paid to vote for incumbent Mayor Karen Bass and Councilwoman Nithya Raman.

Raman’s surge into second place, after initially trailing well behind change-agent candidate Spencer Pratt, came after an extraordinary tally in mail-in ballots.

In one of the clips, a man on Skid Row claimed he received $4 to vote for Bass.

When asked whether he would also have been paid to vote for Raman, he answered “yes” and said Pratt was not among the candidates he was encouraged to support.

“They gave you an optional choice,” claimed the voter Kevin Shepherd, alleging he was offered $2 but negotiated for a higher payment.

He further claimed that he completed a mail-in ballot for Bass and deposited it in a ballot box.

Federal Homeland Security Investigations agents also participated in Thursday’s probe.

The officers — dressed in jeans, sweatshirts and baseball caps — spoke to locals who appeared to point them in the direction of where to look.

The Post confirmed agents were attempting to identify who was either approached or paid to vote.

The FBI said it does not comment on ongoing investigations.

The video clips, which were provided to the Department of Justice, followed The Post’s revelations that thousands of homeless people were registered to vote in shelters they didn’t live in.

A review of records by The Post identified more than 7,600 registered voters linked to shelters and other social service entities, including 1,160 registrations connected to the Midnight Mission in Skid Row.

A homeless services drop-in center in Venice had 185 registered voters tied to its address. The organization received a $600,000 taxpayer-funded grant awarded by Raman while she chaired the City Council’s Housing and Homelessness Committee.

Garrett Fahy, an attorney who practices election law in California, said the registrations identified during The Post’s review reflect how the state’s election system is designed to operate.

He said the concentration of voters registered through shelters, service providers and other nontraditional addresses should be viewed within the broader framework of California election law.

“This is the system that our representatives have given to us,” Fahy said. “If you don’t like our system, don’t yell at your local elections official.”

Days before the bombshell Skid Row revelations emerged, the city’s top federal prosecutor announced his office was pursuing several election fraud investigations with the FBI as questions swirled over California’s sluggish vote count.

First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli said he was working with the Department of Justice “to conduct a comprehensive audit of California’s voter rolls” three days after the June 2 election.

A federal prosecutor visited the LA County ballot processing facility the same day, touring the center amid growing questions about the speed of ballot processing.

Bass handily won the mayoral primary, with Raman coming in second after a late surge propelled her past Pratt despite his strong Election Day showing.

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