Los Angeles police last Saturday arrested three men on Skid Row for allegedly paying homeless people to fraudulently sign petitions for measures in upcoming elections, including the hotel worker initiative in Long Beach.

The three men allegedly asked for signatures on several different political forms and paid people in cash and cigarettes, according to a report by NBC Los Angeles.

Evidence gathered by police included thousands of dollars in cash and lists of LA County registered voters, according to NBC. The men were also said to have been carrying signature-gathering paperwork to qualify multiple measures for elections later this year.

“Those included an LA County effort to reduce jail time and expand oversight of the Sheriff’s Department,” according to NBC. “They also had statewide measures to reduce the number of felons considered non-violent, increase income tax on millionaires and property tax on business owners, and a local effort in Long Beach to improve safety for some hotel workers.”

That hotel worker initiative, brought forth by labor union UNITE HERE Local 11 and the Long Beach Coalition For Good Jobs and Healthy Communities, looks to mandate panic buttons in hotels, restrict overtime and limit the amount of rooms hotel cleaners have to clean among other demands.

None of the measures’ authors or supporters are considered suspects in the signature fraud and no charges have been filed by the LA County District Attorney’s Office which asked police for more investigative work, according to NBC. The men have been released from jail.

Over 46K Signatures Submitted to Bring Hotel Worker Safety Initiative to Long Beach Voters

Earlier this week, the work of petitioners collecting signatures in Long Beach for the hotel worker initiative was criticized by a local group opposing the measure along with a Long Beach councilwoman.

The Long Beach Hospitality Alliance and Third District Councilwoman Suzie Price alleged that a signature-gatherer allegedly provided misleading statements to potential signers. Price even photographed a misleading poster alleging “80 percent of hotel maids in Long Beach have been assaulted,” and confronted the petitioner about the information on Saturday.
The Long Beach Coalition released a statement credited to campaign manager and Long Beach hotel worker Juana Melara in regard to the allegations.

“More than 46,000 Long Beach residents signed the petition to put an initiative on the ballot in November to protect women from sexual assault,” Melara said in a statement. “While we have no information about these particular individuals, we of course do not endorse the type of misconduct alleged. We are confident that Long Beach wants to protect women against sexual assault. The real disgrace is that at this historic ‘Me Too’ moment, Long Beach council members like Suzie Price voted against hotels providing housekeepers with a panic button.”

Stephanie Rivera is the community engagement editor. Reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter at @StephRivera88.