Skid Row Woman Claims She Was Paid $2 to Vote for Karen Bass
A TikToker interviewed a woman on Skid Row who claims she was paid $2 to vote for Karen Bass in the 2026 Los Angeles mayoral election.
June 10 2026, Published 2:28 p.m. ET
Anytime there’s a political election, it’s customary for those in the running to campaign with the hopes of convincing people to vote for them. Like in the 2026 Los Angeles mayoral election involving Karen Bass, the current mayor who is seeking re-election, and Nithya Raman. Former The Hills reality TV star Spencer Pratt was also in the running, but he didn’t advance.
While it isn’t unusual or illegal for these candidates to be seen at public events talking about how they plan to help a struggling city, a recent TikTok appears to accuse one of the contenders of fraud, or people associated with them, of paying unsheltered individuals to vote for them. A TikTok shared by @nomorepoliticing interviews a woman on Skid Row who says she was paid to vote for Bass. Here’s the full context.
A woman on Skid Row says she was paid $2 to vote for Karen Bass.
In a TikTok that attempts to push back against the idea that there is no voter fraud occurring in California, creator @nomorepoliticing interviews a woman on Skid Row who says she was paid to vote for Karen Bass. For context, Skid Row is in Los Angeles and is home to a very large population of homeless people.
In the video, the person behind the camera asks the woman if she voted, and she says yes. Surprised, the man then asks, “Oh you did, for Karen Bass?” and she confirms, “Yeah, Karen.” She then appears to confirm that Bass is her last name to which the man clarifies it. When asked again whether she voted for Karen Bass or Nithya Raman, she again confirms Karen Bass.
He then asks if someone told her to vote for Karen, and she says yes, adding that she “had to sign a little thing.” When asked how much she was paid, she responds, “just like $2 bucks.” She also says that “they” come out to Skid Row often, suggesting people campaigning in the area are offering money in exchange for votes.
Others were also called out for allegedly buying votes from the homeless people.
In the same post, the TikToker also calls out Brenda Lee Brown Armstrong, who pleaded guilty to paying homeless people to vote. A May 2026 press release from the U.S. Department of Justice confirms she worked as a “longtime signature collector for ballot initiatives” and was charged with paying individuals on Skid Row to vote.
The post also calls out Nithya Raman for allegedly handing a $600K check to St. Joseph Shelter. The creator claims it’s a shelter with “zero beds and thousands of homeless voters registered.” The caption ends with, “I’m confused… how is there no election fraud in California?”
The New York Post noted that Raman did approve a $600,000 taxpayer-funded grant to the organization while chairing the City Council’s Housing and Homelessness Committee.
While there’s no explicit proof that anyone working with or supporting Bass paid the woman in the video, it still raises concerns about potential fraud, especially given the past cases mentioned, coupled with the woman’s statement.