Becerra joins voting rights group in urging Shasta grand jury to remove ROV Clint Curtis
The UCLA Voting Rights Project, where gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra serves as the senior legal advisor, sent a letter to both the grand jury and local officials today that accused Curtis of “willful or corrupt misconduct in office” and outlined a path under the law for his removal. Curtis said he “would love to go to court.”
California gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra, along with a state voting rights group, is urging the Shasta County Grand Jury to do its “duty” to initiate the process to remove Registrar of Voters Clint Curtis.
The UCLA Voting Rights Project, a group for which Becerra is the senior legal advisor, wrote a letter today to the grand jury, board of supervisors and district attorney that outlined what they said is the jury and county officials’ responsibility to remove Curtis for “willful or corrupt misconduct in office.”
Curtis, who was appointed to his role, is slated to hold his seat through early January. He responded to news of the letter by saying he “would love to go to court.”
A press release by the voting rights group noted that despite certifying the results of the June primary election, one in which he lost to former Assistant ROV Joanna Francescut, Curtis has since raised unsubstantiated concerns about ballots and locked them in the elections office in hopes federal officials would investigate them.
While Curtis has not been charged with or convicted of any election crimes, the letter indicated the voting rights group’s belief that he likely committed them.
Beyond that, the group claimed Curtis has engaged in conduct “below the standard of decency,” reducing trust in elections and putting them at risk.
“It sets a dangerous precedent if Mr. Curtis was allowed to employ the authority of his office to cast suspicion on an election he administered, certified, but then lost,” said Sonni Waknin, Senior Voting Rights Counsel at the UCLA Voting Rights Project.
“With another election approaching,” Waknin added, “Shasta County voters deserve an elections office that follows the law, protects the chain of custody, and administers every ballot with professionalism and transparency.”
Curtis has been the center of controversy many times since being appointed, but public concern about his behavior has escalated over recent weeks, during which he’s made national headlines for expressing interest in hiring convicted felon Tina Peters and attempted to draw the presence of federal officials in hopes of examining what he claims are “suspect” ballots.
He told Shasta Scout by text today in response to the letter that he had not yet heard from the grand jury about the matter. He added that it sounds to him like Becerra is “a little afraid of honest elections” and alluded to the possibility that the Democratic gubernatorial candidate may be involved with what he referred to as “the counterfeit ballots.”
“I would be very wary of anyone who wants to cover up an investigation by the authorities on something as important as a citizens ability to vote and know that the elections are not being decided by fraudulent means,” Curtis wrote.
In today’s press release, voting rights attorney Waknin demanded state and local officials to take action before the November election, which is also when Becerra will be on the ballot. The letter sent to local officials today outlined a process by which Curtis could be removed from office, citing California government code.
The process requires the Shasta County Grand Jury to initiate action against Curtis. According to the law, the jury could present a formal accusation of “willful or corrupt misconduct in office” against Curtis to the Shasta District Attorney’s Office, which would then serve the accusation to Curtis and instruct him when to appear in the Shasta Superior Court. Once filed, Curtis would have an opportunity to respond to the allegations and, should the court case proceed, be tried before a jury.
The letter urged the board of supervisors to support any efforts by the grand jury to remove Curtis.
The voting rights group laid out the ways in which it believes Curtis has violated his duties as an elections official, which included sequestering voters’ ballots, duplicating documents containing voter information and using work hours to make campaign phone calls, the last of which was substantiated by a Shasta County investigation.
“These acts need not be criminal … but demonstrate that Registrar Curtis acts below the standards of decency expected of a Registrar of Voters in California,” the letter said. “These willfully indecent acts justify the Grand Jury to initiate removal proceedings.”
The Shasta County grand jury did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether it would initiate the process to remove Curtis from office.
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The problem with a grand jury convening to start proceedings to get rid of Curtis is that Shasta county jurors are not picked like regular jurists. They APPLY for the job. I was on a grand jury for a year in a county where I received a summons for grand jury just like people get for being on a regular jury. It was a long, hard year of service but a fairly assembled group. If there are MAGA people who applied for the Shasta county grand jury, will the grand jury’s investigations be suspect? In the past, I knew of people who were approached by city, or Shasta county officials, or judges or attorneys to apply. How random or fair is that? Just a thought…
The Shasta County district attorney can request and receive a convened grand jury to hear and/or see evidence of criminal conduct for the purpose of issuing a criminal indictment. That process was common in the 1970’s; however–though still viable–it has been seldom used since 2000.
The Shasta County district attorney can convene the grand jury for the sole purpose of present evidence of non-feasance, misfeasance, and/or malfeasance of a county officer for the purpose of removing him or her from office. The process of the non-criminal return (accusation) is quick if the grand jury finds that the non- mal- or misfeasance occurred; the trying of the matter before a jury takes time. However, if a jury determines that the non-feasance, misfeasance, and/or malfeasance occurred, not only is the office holder immediately removed from his office but there are other negative ramifications. If the officer holds a license to practice law in another state, there could be an issue of discipline against that license. The officer resigning after the grand jury return is filed with the Superior Court does not necessarily stop the trial proceedings with or without the accused officer attending.
The letter alleged that Curtis has made three primary violations of California election and government code.
The first is that Curtis, in the act of securing ballots from the November 2024 election and June 2 primary election in hopes of turning them over to the federal government for investigation, is “knowingly and fraudulently acting in contravention of” election code, which prohibits ballots from being taken from the custody of an election official.—CLINT IS THE ELECTION OFFICIAL and who wouldn’t want our ballots locked up for further investigation, unless your a cheater
The second alleged violation is that Curtis, having directed an elections employee to remove and copy documents containing sensitive voter information and store the copies elsewhere in the elections office, may have violated government code which prohibits government records from being stolen, removed, secreted, destroyed, mutilated, defaced, altered or falsified. — MAY HAVE VIOLATED GOVERNMENT CODE–may have–may have really? ha may have—that’s the best you got?
The third is that Curtis, in taking campaign-related phone calls during county work hours, violated government code which prohibits a local official from using public resources for “campaign activity.”
An investigation conducted by Oppenheimer Investigations Group found that Curtis engaged in “at least one campaign-related phone call during county hours.”–ONE PHONE CALL–OH MY GOD–I seem to remember an elected offival who made many phone calls on county time–OH, THAT’S DIFFERENT
Yawn….
Get over yourself, please. There is a right way to do things and a wrong way to do things. And Clint Curtis is not only breaking elections law, he is also violating county procedures and creating his own hostile work environment.
And Clintie the Clown has blown past Godwin’s Law by calling Becerra “Little Hitler”. He is completely around the bend.
Selah
Well, keep in mind that it’s election season and Becerra is looking for votes. The possibility of convening Grand Jury, holding hearings and removing Curtis before November is slim and none, but it might get Becerra a few more votes.
As for Curtis, about the only good he’s done for Shasta County is to show the public why we need to seriously consider replacing our Board of Supervisors.
And while we’re at it let’s replace every corrupt elected official in the entire county, amen.
Curtis has openly stated that he doesn’t feel obligated to follow any law he doesn’t agree with To have him continue as Shasta County Registrar of Voters is a clear and present danger to the midterm elections in November 2026 being illegally subverted in Shasta County, California
This process would run well past the end of the clown’s term. The only possible benefit would be if legal action prompted the SOS/AG to post monitors at the polling places. It’s way past time to show the local fabulists that the circus is over.
Selah
I’m MAGA and I cannot wait to be done with all these idiots, whether alt right or alt left…
We have to vote and make sure they can never touch the levers of power again…
Hopefully Joanna can clean house and get rid of all the conspiracy knuckleheads
This has and will cost us more precious tax dollars… Curtis knows the longer he can keep up his charade the more press he can get. Is it any wonder he is getting his butt sued off in Florida
Don’t forget who brought him to us… Jones, Crye, Harmon, and Kelstrom.. and other Board members that went along for the ride
Never again Shasta….
If I am not mistaken the traveling carnival is always looking for clowns.
Adios Clint- the “good people” of Shasta will not miss you, period.
End of story.
I don’t believe that Becerra understands that Shasta County (and all of California) does not have a Criminal Grand Jury, only a Civil Grand Jury, which literally means that they have no “teeth” in order to be able to remove an appointed position of the County. The Grand Jury can only investigate and make “suggestions” to the offending party, and whether or not the party decides to comply, always remains to be seen, and generally not heeded. This has been my experience as I served on the Shasta County Grand Jury last year. Furthermore, Grand Jury investigations and proceedings take such an inordinate amount of time, and Curtis will be gone by January, so all of this effort is really a moot point. While I appreciate the efforts of everyone involved in getting this grifter out of our sights and minds, they are simply wasting their precious time.
Anonymous: What do you think of state law linked in the article that appears to provide a pathway for this?
Well this is interesting. “If a grand jury wants to remove an official for “willful or corrupt misconduct” in office (like gross negligence or abusing their official powers), they must issue a formal accusation under California Government Code Section 3060. This leads to a civil trial where the only penalty is being stripped of their office.” I would assume that Becerra knows this… No,?
As a former prosecutor here in Shasta County, I assure you that if Stephanie Bridgett wished to convene a criminal jury one could be summoned by the court within the next week. Preparing for an indictment might take some time; and, even if the grand jury rubber stamps and returns a true bill, Curtis would be entitled to delay arraignment on the information to seek counsel (even if his litigious self intends to proceed pro se). I agree with the observations above that concluding a successful trial before November 3rd, which is the bare minimum requirement for his removal, is next to impossible and therefore mere grandstanding. The time remaining to secure a Workplace Protective Order that would at least preclude his active presence at the tabulation site on Market of any other election related venue is itself dwindling rapidly to the point of non-viability.
Change directions based on hope for the future: Volunteer to be a poll worker of an election observer. Overwhelm the potential problem with a flood of individual actions that promote good and fair elections. Give the professionals who worked for me and for Joanna, some whom have served for years, the fuel they need to prevent disaster and deliver the fair, efficient election you deserve. And pray, if you’re so inclined. God will provide.
Thank you for being on the side of common sense, Mr. Toller.
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Sincere appreciation.
I have no faith in Bridgett doing the right thing. She has failed to do so on too many occasions.
If there was ‘election fraud’ then why did Curtis certify the election????
Even if the Grand Jury requested that the D.A. investigate Curits, I seriously doubt the SCBOS would endorse the investigation. After all, they put him there! Curtis did what he thought he was supposed to do, like the convicted 34-count felon and leader of the Shasta County and National Republican Party, who likes to say, “Go Wild.” Curtis most likely thought he had the green light and tried to do just that!
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The problem is that Shasta County is not some white nationalist militia-guarded “TRUMP IN 28!” Idaho compound, despite what Cooky would like or has us believe; WE LIVE IN CALIFORNIA, and Shasta County must follow California law. So when Clint went just a bit rogue and had to be investigated (and TWO investigations found substantiated allegations), the supervisors, except Crye and Corkey, had to do something. Once again, they slapped his hand, left him in office, and did nothing more.
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Reality is, there’s a lot in common politically and socially between the majority on the board of supervisors (whom Curtis calls ‘Idiots’) and Clint Curtis. After all, Curtis is a fellow Trumper, the guy our local Republican Party endorsed, and an acquaintance of Republican heroes Mr. Pillow and Tina Petters, don’t you know!
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Expect nothing from our supervisors on the “Curtis Problem,” unless he follows through on his multiple threats to Shasta County… Then, unless they settle out of court, as I might guess Crye and Corky would like to do, the board will have to do something.
I should think it obvious that Clint Curtis has been and is a carpetbagger—first and always.
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Shasta County was never more to Curtis than a launch pad from which to rocket himself into the stratosphere of Maga world. His problem is that he’s not very bright. Deep red Shasta County is a damn poor place to allege election fraud when the political right consistently wins the majority of elections.
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That the politically compromised Justice Department, FBI, and DHS have not come running to examine our funny smelling ballots speaks volumes.
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Curtis says he’d love to get into court if anyone attempts to fire him. Of course he would lest people start to forget him.
Curtis knows how our elections are rigged the man created the algorithm that hacks our vote for the Dems.
I voted him in along with many others he can fix our elections 🙏🏼🇺🇸❤️✝️
Call the grand jury and demand action. (530) 225-5098
Contacting the Grand Jury (especially by phone since they require a written complaint in order to respond) would be futile at this point in time. This is a major waste of time since there are only 2 months left until the election.
Here’s to a successful end to the clown show, XX.
Curtis and his lackeys are an embarrassment to Shasta County. Curtis alleges that the very election he was supposed to safeguard was crooked, zero proof of any fraud, just spouting lies.
Then, on Measue B, Curtis doesn’t even have the courage to stand and challenge the measures legality against the State of California. What’s he do instead? Curtis asks a Jusge to simply remove the illegal parts he wrote into Measure B, and then implement that….the Judge had to explain to simpleton Curtis that he, the Judge, can’t re-write and then implement a ballot measure from the bench.
On the Jefferson Out of my Mind radio show this dimwit Curtis even stated that he tries to get some of his ROV office employees to join the UPEC union in order to spy on the Union membership at their Union meeting.
Clint, you’re an unprofessional and in-American disgrace.
Curtis has it all backwards. If he is claiming we are afraid of honest elections, he must first prove past elections have been dishonest. Repeatedly claiming there has been election fraud, including the one he oversaw and certified, requires more proof than his opinion that ballots staff fed into tabulators didn’t look or smell right. He was on fake media claiming to not understand how an overspray error on ballot barcodes printed by Runbeck for a past election were rejected by the inferior Hart tabulators. Clearly, Patti Plumb has been filling his head with alternative facts to perpetuate the Big Lie to the local MAGA crowd. If the GJ can initiate the process to remove him, this should have been done months ago. My hope is the Secretary of State sends a full crew in to closely monitor every aspect of the November election.
“I would be very wary of anyone who wants to cover up an investigation by the authorities on something as important as a citizens ability to vote and know that the elections are not being decided by fraudulent means,” Curtis wrote.
It’s ALWAYS projection with the likes of Curtis & Co. MAGA talking points (lies) right on schedule. The sad (?) thing is that going to court will energize Curtis & Co to be even more obnoxious. The feeding frenzy at their own trough of unearned self-aggrandizement is heady stuff for some of these folks.
It should surprise no one that this situation has progressed has it has. When the board majority Kelstrom, Crye, and Harmon, appointed Curtis over other qualified candidates including Joanna Francescut, it was clear that the only skill that Curtis had with regard to elections was claiming to be able to manipulate a voting machine about 24 years prior. This is no relevant skill at all and I think his claims even in that are questionable. I think his goal has been clear from the beginning to gain national attention for himself so that he can get speaking gigs and other monetary gains from the time he spent here in Shasta county. It’s unfortunate that if we proceed with this removal, which we probably should, he will only gain more notoriety. In the groups that he’s appealing to it will likely be a plus.