Republican operatives accused of leaving campaign workers 'living in cars' with no pay

A Republican group hired people from across the country to come to Utah and gather signatures for a ballot referendum repealing the state's anti-gerrymandering law — but many are coming forward to say they are ill-treated, not getting paid, and reduced to "living in their cars."

The allegations concern Patriot Grassroots, a campaign operation hired by Utahns for Representative Government, the GOP-led group trying to repeal Proposition 4. Earlier this year, a state judge invalidated the GOP's congressional map that carved up Salt Lake City to create four Republican districts, ultimately replacing it with a map that has one Democratic district, which caused an explosion of outrage by the state GOP.

But their effort to get a ballot question on to reverse the law is off to a rocky start.

According to ABC4, "By Nov. 15, petitioners say signature gathering finally began. After weeks of gathering, multiple petitioners were terminated, group messages show."

“[It] took me a good 22 hours to drive through the Rockies,” said Tom Ellerman, who came all the way from Minnesota for the work. “I burned through the money I had to get here.”

When he arrived, he was denied work.

"A spokesperson with Patriot Grassroots said in a statement that they do not pay with paper checks. They also claim Ellerman had an expired ID and exhibited 'erratic behavior,'" noted the report. "Ellerman [says] he produced documents to ABC4.com that show a driver’s license renewal receipt with a 2029 expiration date ... [and] Patriot Grassroots never asked for further documentation before letting him go."

One other person who was let go, identified only as "David," said he was only compensated $200 on CashApp after being fired: “That doesn’t even cover my gas to get out here. Several of us are now stranded with no funds to get home safely.”

For those who actually did get to work, many reported problems, with one canvasser identified as "Carmen" saying, “We’d put in a 10-hour day… and the spreadsheet would show us as working an hour.” Patriot Grassroots advertises using "AI overwatch" to review these documents and prevent fraud.

Patriot Grassroots denies these allegations and says the dismissed canvassers created a hostile work environment.

“This work can be challenging, and not every assignment is right for every person," said a spokesperson. "But even when someone isn’t the best match, we still take care of them, pay them for all work performed, ensure they can get home, and offer them future opportunities. We do not abandon people — ever.”