Federal election probes are a step toward restoring faith in voting

Some stakeholders in LA have exploited homeless voters –– and lax voting rules –– to entrench their power.Now the Trump administration is investigating. Plainclothes federal agents spread through Skid Row this week to explore  possible election fraud –– including reports that homeless people were paid to complete voting forms, forge signatures and cast votes for left-wing candidates for mayor.Once again, LA’s top federal prosecutor, Bill Essayli, has done great work probing allegations of fraud that state and local officials have scant incentive to address.Let’s find out more.Investigating alleged Skid Row voting bribes, along with other claims of election fraud in California, are a key step toward restoring public trust in Golden State elections. Since the June 2 primary, California’s been a global laughingstock for its lax guardrails on voting, ban on voter ID, slow system of late vote-counting, and anything-goes election process that’s so sloppy it’s hard to tell where the chaos ends and the fraud might begin.California's top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.

Please provide a valid email.By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Never miss a story Meanwhile, true to form, the LA City Council is plotting to make the mess worse. Zealot-left Councilman Hugo Soto-Martínez led a council majority to advance a plan to let noncitizens, including illegal immigrants, vote in LA elections –– an insane proposal that would erase what few voting controls are left, dilute citizens’ voices, and deepen distrust of a broken electoral system.After the June election, The California Post found thousands of homeless voters registered to vote at shelters where they were not living, including one shelter with no beds.It’s fair to wonder what happened to the thousands of ballots that were  mailed to those locations, given Sacramento’s r...