Democrats are paying homeless people on Skid Row for votes for Karen Bass.
Posted by VINCE, Checked
- Sources
- 3 contradict4 support1 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 85%
VINCEAug 25, 2026
The claim that Democrats paid Skid Row homeless people for votes for Karen Bass is debunked. Lead Stories, citing the LA County Registrar, found the woman in the viral video was registered in Inglewood and did not return her primary ballot, and the LA Times found no evidence of paid votes after interviewing election experts and 20 Skid Row residents.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What was said
… They rigged their own primary elections in every presidential election for the last decade: 2016, 2020, 2024. They rigged the primaries against their own voters. Why wouldn't they do it against general election voters? They're ballot harvesting. They're paying off homeless people living on Skid Row for votes for Karen Bass. They're corrupt. There's voter fraud happening all over the place, and the left doesn't want to lock it down because they believe, with a lot of evidence, that they're the beneficiaries of it. …
VINCE · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Contradicts. Lead Stories (tier1) rated the claim false: LA County Registrar records show the woman who said she was paid $5 to vote for Bass is registered in Inglewood, and she did not return her mailed primary ballot.[1]
Contradicts. LA County election officials responded that there was no evidence the woman voted for Bass for $5, and the LA Times reported that its interviews with election experts and 20 Skid Row residents found no one who had heard of anyone offering money to vote for a specific candidate.[3][4]
Contradicts. The Bass campaign called the idea that it paid for votes 'absurd', and the LA Times described the allegations as unfounded, with little or no evidence of wrongdoing.[3][4]
Supports. Partisan outlets (Daily Signal, Hot Air, Glenn Beck, and social posts) repeated the viral videos' allegations, but these echo the claim and do not independently substantiate it.[5][6][7][8]
Context. The allegation spread in June 2026 from a TikTok video; the claim was made on 2026-08-25, and the later coverage through September does not show any evidence reversing the June findings.[2]
Sources
8 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 6 not rated
- 1Fact Check: NO Evidence 'Skid Row' Woman Voted For Karen Bass ...leadstories.com · fact-checker · cited for: contradicts
- 2Raman stresses independence as rivals for LA mayor duel over homelessness, Israelapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 3Unfounded claims of homeless vote fraud: We go to Skid Row ...latimes.com · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 4"Unfounded claims of homeless voter fraud roil LA We went to Skid ...electionlawblog.org · not rated · cited for: contradicts
- 5NOT a Conspiracy: Footage Shows Dems BUYING Votes From The Homeless?youtube.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 6Homeless Claim They Were Paid to Vote in Los Angelesdailysignal.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 7Homeless Addicts in L.A.: They Paid Us to Votehotair.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 8This is fraud. Corruption. This is done under the radar of ...x.com · not rated · cited for: supports
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- People have been arrested for voter registrations on Skid Row.True
- Democrats are letting noncitizens vote illegally.Can’t tell
- Democrats allow illegal immigrants to vote in elections.Can’t tell
- Democrats engage in ballot harvesting.True
- Democrats are letting noncitizens vote illegally by keeping illegal immigrants on voter rolls.Can’t tell