Marina del Rey Woman Charged in Election Fraud

Brenda Lee Brown Armstrong, a 64-year-old Marina del Rey resident, was charged on May 18 with one federal felony count of paying another person to register to vote, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Prosecutors said Armstrong, who also used the name “Anika,” agreed to plead guilty after paying people — including homeless residents on Los Angeles’ Skid Row — to fill out voter registration forms while she worked as a paid signature gatherer. The charge carries a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison, the Justice Department said. Armstrong made her initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana on the day the case was announced. ### Who is Brenda Lee Brown Armstrong, and what did prosecutors say she did? Armstrong worked for about 20 years as a “petition circulator,” according to her plea agreement described by federal prosecutors. In that role, she was paid by coordinators to collect signatures from registered voters on petitions tied to California ballot initiatives, referendums and recalls. (justice.gov) Federal prosecutors said Armstrong sought out signatures in Skid Row because it offered a dense concentration of people willing to sign petitions in exchange for payment. Court documents described her as regularly paying or offering to pay cash, usually $2 to $3, to induce people to sign petitions. NBC Los Angeles reported prosecutors also alleged she offered cigarettes and phone cards in some cases. (justice.gov) ### Why did the voter registration forms become part of the case? Many of the people Armstrong approached in Skid Row were not registered to vote in California, prosecutors said. Starting no later than 2025, she began offering payment not only for petition signatures but also for completing voter registration forms, according to the Justice Department. (justice.gov) Bill Essayli, the first assistant U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, said at a May 18 news conference that registration was necessary before those individuals could sign petitions as registered voters. NBC Los Angeles quoted court papers as saying, “Before she could have a homeless person sign a petition, she first needed to get them to register to vote.” (justice.gov) ### What did investigators say about the addresses used on the forms? Federal authorities said the investigation grew out of video recorded in the Skid Row area. When one person did not have a home address to list on a registration form, Armstrong provided her own former address on at least several occasions, according to court documents cited by NBC Los Angeles. (nbclosangeles.com) Prosecutors said ballots in some homeless individuals’ names could have been sent to that former residence, though NBC Los Angeles reported Armstrong did not collect mail there. The Justice Department press release did not say how many people were registered through the scheme. ### What have election officials said publicly? (nbclosangeles.com) Harmeet K. Dhillon, the assistant attorney general for the Civil Rights Division, said in the Justice Department announcement that “false registrations undermine Americans’ faith in elections” and said the department was committed to elections “free from illegal meddling.” That statement accompanied the formal charging announcement on May 18. (nbclosangeles.com) Dean C. Logan, the Los Angeles County registrar-recorder/county clerk, condemned Armstrong’s conduct in a statement cited by NBC Los Angeles. The station said county officials did not immediately specify how many registrations were involved. ### What happens next in the case? The Justice Department said Armstrong is expected to plead guilty in the coming weeks after her initial appearance in Santa Ana. (justice.gov) The single felony charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and any sentence would be set by a federal judge. Los Angeles County’s next major election date is June 2, 2026, when the county is scheduled to hold California’s statewide direct primary election, according to the county registrar’s website. (nbclosangeles.com) Armstrong’s criminal case will proceed separately in federal court. (lavote.gov) (justice.gov)