Curtis ran his first election this fall. He claims his new processes have revolutionized Shasta elections and increased trust, something some public commenters contradict.
A mid-October letter from the Secretary of State asked Shasta’s election official for his written plans and procedures. The 14-page document he provided revolved largely around what Curtis believes former election officials did wrong.
The manual tally, which involves hand counting some of the ballots to verify the machine count, occurred yesterday. Notice of the legally required audit was only released on Friday, raising concerns for some.
Numbers reported to the state today show just over 64,000 ballots have been counted in Shasta with only about 1,500 remaining. Original ballot estimates reported to the state by Shasta’s recently-appointed election official last week were significantly higher than the near-final numbers.
Poll workers seeking to verify voters reported hotline wait times that caused some community members to leave before casting their ballots.
The report was turned in on Friday, one day late. Numbers submitted to the state show that less than half of Shasta’s ballots have been counted.
This week supervisors committed to adding a measure to Shasta's June ballot that could radically change local elections. The initiative, if approved by voters, would contradict California law and is likely to prompt immediate legal pushback.
Just two days after California voters considered Prop. 50 on Election Day, Assembly member James Gallagher will present a proposal to split the coastal and inland parts of the state to Shasta supervisors.
The citizen-led initiative to amend Shasta’s charter is slated to be placed on the June 2026 ballot now that signatures have been verified. The initiative calls for Shasta to hold elections in a way that contradicts state law and is likely to prompt immediate legal challenges.
The proposition will temporarily gerrymander the congressional districts of California and is likely to disempower conservative voters in next year’s midterm election.
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