Francescut has emerged as the victor in race for Shasta County’s top elections official
With years of experience working local elections, Joanna Francescut has emerged victorious against former Florida attorney Clint Curtis, who was appointed by supervisors last year. Here’s what she had to say about implementing Measure B, and how she’ll address changes Curtis has put in place so far.
More than two years after Joanna Francescut first applied to be appointed as the county’s top election official, she appears to have finally secured the job. With ballots processed, but results still unofficial, Francescut has been chosen to become Shasta’s next registrar of voters.
With these latest numbers, current ROV Clint Curtis’ staff — who are still hard at work finalizing the vote count — have confirmed his own defeat. Francescut beat him by about 8,000 votes, securing an almost 58% majority. The deadline for counties to certify the primary election is July 2, which is when results will become official.
Francescut offered only a quiet response to the news of her victory.
“I’m grateful to those who voted for me and I’m looking forward to be able to serve the community again in January when I take office,” Francescut told Shasta Scout.
Curtis declined to comment until the election is officially certified.
Francescut supporters have greeted the news with jubilation on social media. Her 17 years of experience is likely to bring a level of stability to the Shasta County Elections office, which has seen three ROVs hold office in as many years.
But there are also undeniable challenges ahead.
Francescut’s campaign promise to comply with all California election laws will be complicated by the passage of Measure B. It’s a local ballot initiative that was approved by voters on June 2. Implementing the measure will require a number of changes to Shasta’s election procedures — many of those changes appear to violate current state regulations. Measure B calls for the Shasta County Elections office to require ID to vote, restrict most voting by mail, and implement a one-day election along with a full hand-count of ballots at the precincts. The measure, once implemented, would also separate Shasta’s voter rolls from those of the state.
After a similar but less substantial ballot initiative was passed by voters in Huntington Beach, it was successfully challenged by the state and effectively struck down in court. Yesterday, California’s Attorney General Rob Bonta and Secretary of State Shirley Weber sued Shasta in hopes of also stopping the implementation of Measure B.
Asked about her plan to implement Measure B amid legal action, Francescut said simply, “this job is responsible to administer elections in a manner that follows all federal, state and local laws. I will do just that. Follow all laws.”
But there’s also another question, whether she will maintain the experimental procedures that Curtis himself implemented over the last year. Francescut said she will need to fully analyze those procedures before making decisions about what she’ll retain, and what she’ll change. She added that resources aren’t infinite and her role as a leader is to simplify what she can to get done what she must.
“Duplicative and excessive processes will be eliminated to help ease the burden of the general fund and to count ballots efficiently,” she said.
Years of instability at the elections office
Curtis’ short tenure was laden with controversies that polarized local voters, ranging from his openly partisan politics to his elimination of most drop boxes. He’s also faced two investigations that substantiated findings of misconduct towards staff, and most recently been dealing with an alleged “incident” at the elections office which triggered a report to the California Secretary of State.
He’s not the first Shasta ROV to face challenges. Over recent years, the beleaguered elections office has been the focus of activists who have waged unproven allegations of election fraud against multiple ROVs who held the role in the years before Curtis.
The last democratically elected ROV, Cathy Darling Allen, resigned in 2024 after she developed a stress-related cardiac condition. Her mid-term departure empowered the county board to appoint her replacement themselves, rather than call for a special election. Francescut, the assistant ROV at the time, seemed the obvious choice, but was passed over for Tom Toller, a former prosecutor with no elections experience. When he too stepped down for health-related reasons mid-term, Francescut applied a second time. Once again, the Shasta County board selected someone with no election administration experience over Francescut.
This June, with the decision finally in voters’ hands, Francescut won easily. Moving forward, she indicated that she will set the tone for a new era at the election’s office, a calmer one.
“Election administration isn’t as simple as what it seems,” she said, “but it shouldn’t be on the news every single day.”
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Were the likes of Laura Hobbs and Richie Gallardo temporary hires for election season? Or are the MAGA yahoo passengers of the current ROV’s clown car going to continue to draw public salaries until Curtis leaves office? If Francescut cleans house on day one, expect more lawsuits. Worth it, for once.
Perhaps we can now return to the days when the election for the nonpartisan County Clerk and Registrar of Voters is one to which we paid little attention because we didn’t need to pay attention. Quiet competence is its own reward.
Now that the State of California has filed a lawsuit over Measure B, it’s all but certain it will be overturned in the courts.
I’ve already read the lawsuit brief by Rob Bonta. It’s a clearly written document with compelling arguments and a host of legal cases to support the lawsuit.
Congratulations and best of wishes.
This change will be a breath of fresh air. J.F. genuinely cares about democracy and civic honesty rather then the vision of more self-serving types.
I’ve seen K.C. raging into her face while she stayed calm, and R.G. regularly swaggering around pestering the elections office by showing that he was packing a gun; she simply can’t be intimidated by minions or crazies even as she keeps her eye on the ball. That’s exactly what we need right now.
When does Joanna take over?
January 20, 2027. Curtis gets to try his hand at monkey-wrenching one more election.
Freedom 250 from the WhiteHouse is possibly the best show ive ever seen… and it’s only 10 mins in. The soldiers, the jets, the flags. Proud to be an American.
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Trump took out Maduro and the Iranian president. LOVE it!
lol
Ufc Freedom 250 was an epic night. Was great seeing everyone thanking our president. Justin G for the American win. Soldiers of all colors. Michelle caught a stray. Trump has done so much to return pride to our country. The majority spoke loud. Not surprised at all and so blessed that Kamala/Biden aren’t in charge of anything. Can you imagine celebrating our military and glorious history with those bozos?
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When Trump had the stones to create a country no fly list I sat forward. People actually argue against MAGA. These are the same people who got worked up over All Lives Matter. Self-hate is real. Good thing no one takes them seriously.
We are the laughingstock of the world—increasingly isolated and irrelevant until we throw a tantrum—all thanks to Orange Jesus, M.D. This man-baby has the lowest approval numbers of any second-term POTUS in modern American history. Even Republicans are starting to realize they got chumped. MAGA candidates still do okay in primaries but are getting crushed in general elections. Independents have abandoned ship.
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The only MAGAs who remain loyal are mouth-breathers who are easily distracted with American flags, MMA fights, xenophobic posturing, military flexing with parades and ill-conceived wars, fake gold everywhere, and bald-faced lies about how great the economy is doing. Chumps like you.
Hope SS posts this.
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It was a great night of fights. Justin’s win exemplified the American spirit and never giving up on a dream. He thanked Trump and you shouod too. Summer 250 with the Republicans in charge is really the only way to honor our tradition. If you slither out of your echo chamber for one minute, past the bones of your disgraced idol, one Sr Chavez, you’ll see that a majority of the country disagrees w your hysteria and hyperbolic takes that Trump is Hitler, or Musoilini, or or or. Relax. You’re going to be safe, we’ll still protect you.
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I like the best candidates. Joanna and Trump happen to be those at the moment.
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Selah
It has been my experience that trolls are best ignored. Trying to engage and cite facts is useless, as what is inconvenient for them is ignored. I believe there is an analogy to playing chess with a pigeon. Eventually the pigeon will knock over all the pieces, s**t all over the board and strut off like it won anyway.
Selah
Darwish… You just accused Francescut of election fraud. Typical BIG LIE MAGA trumpian complaint, based on unsubstantiated accusations. You have a right to an opinion but we without a court behind you, accusations of fraud is what you do so often and the people just voted they are done with that Clint Curtis MAGA fantasy nonsense. Care to move in to a different topic like, I don’t know, the tragic war on the women and children of Palestine?
No, I’m accusing her of falsifying official reports (a felony) because that’s exactly what she did.
It is a fact that Hart instructed Francescut, personally, to use laser printed ballots.
It is a fact she ignored the manufacturer’s instructions and instead relied on California’s list of “certified printers.”
It is a fact those inkjet ballots from California’s “certified printer” (Runbeck) could not reliably be scanned by Hart machines.
It is a fact unscannable ballots had to be (or were supposed to be) diligently duplicated by staff.
It is a fact the post election audit, which she personally oversaw, noted 511 discrepancies (when 0-2 discrepancies is typical in a presidential election).
It is a fact Francescut reported only 10 to the Secretary of State.
It is a fact that 99% of those discrepancies affected vote-by-mail ballots (which, unlike election day ballots, could not be reprinted in time for the election).
It is extremely likely that staff sometimes duplicated the wrong ballot causing votes for some candidates to be counted twice and others not at all. Batch #320 illustrates this:
Machine Count vs Audit Count
President:
Trump: 11_______14
Harris: 11_______8
US Senate Full:
Garvey: 12_______15
Schiff: 10________7
US Senate Short:
Garvey: 12_______15
Schiff: 10________7
US D1:
LaMalfa: 13______15
Yee: 9________7
CA Senate:
Dahle: 18______17
Fennell: 3______3
Undervote: 1_____2
CA D1:
Audette: 5________7
Hadwick: 14_______11
Undervote: 3______4
SCOE 1:
Tyson: 12_______1
Orlicky: 4_______4
Undervote: 4_____8
College Area C:
Percy: 10_______5
Swendiman: 8_____11
Undervote: 4_____6
The entirety of the evidence suggests that of the 22 ballots in batch 320:
3 republican-ticket ballots were not originally counted
2 democrat-ticket ballots were originally counted twice
1 split-ticket ballot (i.e. apparent democrat who voted for LaMalfa) was originally counted twice
2 partisan ballots were originally counted twice
2 of the same party ballots were not originally counted (because these partisans voted differently from each other on non-partisan local races)
Love it. Don’t poke the bear.
Counties that used Dominion had no problem.
The rest you are fabricating. Stop whining.
MAGA has lost EVERY case the have presented in court. You keep loosing and you will continue until you face reality.
Oh please..not everything is maga…
Joanna won because she is the best and loyal candidate we have…politics aside..she was elected by ost likely a majority of conservative voters
I appreciate and cherish Joanna for everything she has been through fomented by some very ick and power greedy individual who put conservatism behind their names…they were not…
Let’s se the power of the vote to send kelstrom packing…corky won’t run again..he is way outside his acumen for politics.
I support local people who have demonstrated a derp loyalty to the citizens
Joanna does not have to implement b as it violates the law…just like all other government employees…we can’t break law to make law
Our efforts should be a getting the three to resign early and return this county to lawful normalcy
Well said. Totally agree.
Darwish, stop with your jibber ish. Take it to a court or shut up
She could have been hired by another county at any point in the last two years, but she stayed committed to making sure elections run well in Shasta County.
We owe her an enormous debt of gratitude.
I’m not 100% certain, but I believe Joanna has been working in some capacity in the ROV’s office of a county to the south of us—Glenn County, if memory serves. I’m guessing that she viewed that a temporary job to bridge her employment between her termination by Curtis and her upcoming swearing in.
Mahhmoud
You can stop beating that horse.
It’s been dead for some time now.
I hope the Scout will critically examine her performance as they did Toller and Curtis (she has, afterall, still not publicly discussed why she falsified her 2024 post election audit report).
You’re an IDIOT!! She has more integrity in her pinky finger then you’ve ever dream of having.
He’s not, that’s why his comment stings.
Every newly elected official faces pressure from supporters, donors, political allies, advocacy organizations, and interest groups that may believe their support entitles them to influence, access, appointments, contracts, or preferential treatment.
The voters elected Joanna Francescut to serve as an independent steward of one of the county’s most important institutions, not as a representative of any faction or special interest.
They will eventually, but for now her delayed coronation deserves a few puff pieces. JF was the obvious, best candidate and twice torpedoed. Her short-comings pale in comparison to the buffoonary spawned by the fallout of Moty-Baugh come Jones-Crye. That Mary Rickert can become the darling of liberals shows how bad it has gotten.
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Soon we will be left with Bethelx2, Corky and Chris, and Long as Dirty Harry. Definitely not a Maga brain trust. Everyone chill.
I’m surprised you don’t have carpal tunnel syndrome with all the grasping at straws you do. Still beating that little tin drum?
Selah
No matter how much you enjoy election conspiracies and dressing up for cosplay, that horse is still dead
What you should do is you should write up your analysis and submit it to the Attorney General and Secretary of State. Make your case that she falsified the 2024 post-election audit report. Lay it all out—give them the goods. Insist that your analysis be reviewed by a competent statistician. Prove that you’re not just another election fraud fabulist. Go to town. Knock yourself out.
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I don’t think you have a compelling case, but I’m 100% serious about you trying to make that case to state officials. No elected official should be immune from accountability, regardless of what Orange Mussolini and his followers believe.
I don’t know how it could be any more clear, she tabulated 511 discrepancies but reported only 10.
Both the SOS and State AG’s office know about it. Both are led by hyper partisan Democrats who have never brought any enforcement actions against a fellow Democrat elections official. The SOS’s office attempted an explanation saying “discrepancy” was not defined in the election code so election officials could make up whatever definition suits them. This might be more persuasive if there weren’t 511 tallies in the audit tables under the label “disc.”
Trump’s DOJ expressed a lot of interest in pursuing it before reluctantly concluding she broke California laws, not US, so they lacked jurisdiction.
Shasta County’s DA office never responded to repeated contacts.
So in other words, you got shot down EVERY SINGLE TIME.
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But you’re the one that’s right, and everyone else is wrong.
The state SOS office also mentioned that the ROV is the one legally responsible for submitting the post election audit report; Francescut was then the assistant ROV, potentially a clever bit of legerdemain by former attorney, The unTranspatent Tom Toller.
But this would still not exclude prosecution under penal code § 115 (filing a false document with a state official).
And again, no one disputes that there were 511 discrepancies but only 10 reported (an astounding figure representing an ~7% overall election error rate)
Ha Ha HA You dorks took it to the Trump DOJ and still struck out?
LMAO
The horse is still dead.
Do you do anything that is positively productive?
Gibberish. Worthless.
The alleged crime occurred in Shasta County, in an office of the County, by a County official. I assume you took your allegations to the County DA. She’s a Republican, and in love with slam-dunk cases like the one you insist you have here. How did that go? I assume nowhere. Let me guess—she took a sniff and then used the excuse that local elections aren’t her jurisdiction.
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Your allegations get dismissed quite a lot—am I right?
As I said, the DA’s office did not respond to repeated contacts, being as ineffective in this case as they were with self-dealing corrupt county supervisors and negligent Police K9 “trainers.”
Do I get dismissed a lot? All the time.
Equal rights for gays? Took decades and eventual court orders (overturning democratic ballot iniatives)
Mankind’s contribution to the acceleration of climate change? we’re only just now scratching the surface, but still too often duped by unsustainable greenwashed substitutions (like using 6,000 lb EVs for personal commuting)
The genocide in Palestine and the unequal treatment of Muslim nations in general? Still very much a minority position, especially in Shasta County (which you personally often describe with with a middle eastern slur “Shastanistan”)…
The unsustainability of US entitlement structures? We’re now only 6 years from Social Security’s insolvency and I can guarantee the eventual “solution” with disproportionately benefit the boomers who caused this mess at the expense of younger generations.
How heavy-handed covid mandates meant to protect powerful baby boomers were likely to backfire for future generations? that didn’t take nearly as long to prove (e.g. trust in CDC, measles vax rates, etc)…
I have been wrong too (e.g. I could have acknowledged climate change sooner), but I do begrudgingly change my position as become aware of new evidence.
Which brings me back to Joanna Francescut. Don’t you find it odd that she’s never publicly disputed my accusations? Her camp has a consistent 3-pronged response:
1) Attempt ad-hominem attacks on me, especially by trying to tie me with Trump and “election deniers” (Trump lost 2020, obviously)
2) Demand appeals to authority, like you are doing right now. “Who says?” The data says, quite clearly.
3) Despite promises of transparency, Francescut personally does not respond, seemingly hoping to prevent adding fuel to the fire by acting as if my allegations are crazy and baseless. If I was mistaken it should be easy for her to explain what happened.
So call me Cassandra if you like. To quote the late great bastion of reason Charlie Munger, “I’m right, you’re smart, and sooner or later you’ll see I’m right.”
Every single one of his allegations got dismissed by every single entity that he told it to.
How refreshing. No fabulism, no bragging, no baseless accusations. Just quiet competence We’re lucky she hung in there.
Selah