Secretary of State officials just paid the Shasta County Elections Office a visit. Here’s what we know.
Less than a week before Shasta’s November 2025 special election, Registrar Clint Curtis hosted state officials who came to check out his new processes.
State election officials visited Shasta’s election office this week.
Newly-appointed Registrar of Voters (ROV) Clint Curtis downplayed the Oct. 28 visit, saying the officials found only a few small issues he needed to update. He noted changes to what one of the office’s security screens shows to observers, and addressed an issue with filing the results of required logic and accuracy testing.
The California Secretary of State’s office said the purpose of the visit was to “observe the county’s new processes.” They did not elaborate on whether they found issues, noting only that “our office has not approved any proposed plans.”
At 1:30 pm today, Assistant Registrar of Voters Brent Turner said by phone that he had just spoken to the SOS Office and that the logic and accuracy testing concern was now a non-issue. Shasta Scout is still pending confirmation from the state. The testing is used to determine that voting machines are set up to work accurately before vote counting for a particular election begins. Curtis called the testing a “waste of time” saying machines can be trained to detect they’re being tested to fool the process.
“But it’s a requirement in California,” Curtis acknowledged, ” so we do it.”
Staffing
Curtis confirmed today that he has hired Richard Gallardo, a member of the Cottonwood Militia whose actions created concern during the 2022 election when he attempted to bypass security to reach ballots were returning to the office from precincts around the county.
ROV Curtis said Gallardo will work as an extra staffer on the evening of Election Day as part of what Curtis referred to as the “bucket brigade.” It’s a group that will move ballots from the cars of poll workers coming from the precincts into the elections office. The team is needed because Curtis is bringing ballots in through the front door of the Market Street building instead of the path used in the past — through a back door connected to a permitted alley. He said poll workers will stop their vehicles in a blocked off parking lane on Placer Street where they’ll be met by Gallardo and others in the so-called “bucket brigade.”
Another newly-hired extra help staffer Laura Hobbs — an election activist who’s unsuccessfully sued the county twice over — is in charge of ballot runs, Curtis said. She is picking up ballots with another part time staffer – but not one of a different political persuasion than hers, as previously promised by Curtis. The ROV said he has had trouble getting Democrats to sign up as extra help in order to diversify his teams the way he hoped. The ballot runs by Hobbs and her fellow staffer are individual trips to each ballot box and then back to the election office, Curtis said, with each trip each timed and logged for security reasons.
Curtis also spoke to the adjudication process, or the process of determining voter intent when ballots are not marked clearly, something that prompts the voting machines to reject the ballots so that human eyes can assist.
In a July interview, Curtis referred to the group who would be making those determinations as a “canvassing board,” saying it would include “respected” paid community members from a variety of political persuasions. Asked today who was hired for that group, Curtis said he couldn’t remember — describing them as “just regular folks.”
Curtis added that if the group he’s put in charge of adjudication “showed up for training,” he’d let Shasta Scout know who they are. Asked when that training would occur, Curtis said again that he didn’t know, mentioning that the Secretary of State had “modified some of the rules on how adjudication is supposed to proceed and they have to get that to me and then I can get that to the group.”
With less than a week left till the election, the ROV also mentioned that he could still use an extra five to six extra-help staffers, as he remains short of those needed to process ballots.
Vote counting
More than 80% of voters in Shasta have historically submitted votes by mail ballots, and contrary to what Curtis had planned, those votes are already being counted out of sight of the live streaming cameras that will be used for transparency on Election Day and after.
Curtis said he’s recording the counting of votes on ballots received before the election too but using a different mechanism that’s private only to staff. That video will be available in case of a court challenge, he said, but otherwise can’t be accessed to ensure votes aren’t made public before Election Day.
He started vote counting two days ago – later than he wanted – because he didn’t have his systems and contracts in place, but added that vote counting has gone quickly since then.
Security
In response to questions, Curtis acknowledged that he’s aware that it’s illegal to carry guns in a polling place or election office throughout California, saying his staff, including those newly hired to help in this election, have been made aware. He said he’ll have at least two law enforcement officers on site inside the building on Election Day, as well as security outside.
Will we see more of state officials in Shasta?
The SOS press office didn’t respond when asked whether their officials expect to return to Shasta during this week or next. Deploying state SOS monitors to counties across the state on Election Day has occurred locally in the past. Curtis said if they do return, he will welcome them.
He also noted that Shasta is not currently slated to receive any federal Department of Justice monitors, although national monitors are being deployed to four other California counties. Curtis said he’s disappointed that federal monitors won’t be in Shasta so he can demonstrate his new processes and said he’d like to convince them to come.
“I may have to chat with them,” Curtis said with a smile.
Do you have information or a correction to share? Email us: editor@shastascout.org.
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I signed up and received excellent training yesterday. I am thrilled about the opportunity to contribute to the election. I don’t understand what all the fuss is about. I think it is too bad that some people are choosing not to vote because voting is such a sacred privilege. I met so many really lovely people yesterday. I am looking forward to being a poll worker for Shasta County. Just one humble observation from my own experience, I trained to be a poll worker a few years ago with Cathy Allen. By comparison, that training was not nearly as well thought out as what I received yesterday. I recall it was a one-day training for everyone, and we were herded into a large room upstairs in the ROV office. The acoustics were poor, and being in such a large group, I couldn’t see most of what she was presenting. I did not feel prepared and chose not to work that year.
I am a republican who voted for trump all three times. These crazy maga crew are the reason I will NOT be voting in Shasta county for the first time in years. I DO NOT trust them. They are lunatics and I do not feel comfortable with any of them knowing how I vote.
Link correction…
“Far-Right Leaders Terrorize Far-Left Man: ‘We’ll burn you alive in your tiny little trailer.’
https://anewscafe.com/2023/09/19/redding/far-right-leaders-terrorize-far-left-man-well-burn-you-alive-in-your-tiny-little-trailer/
The same Richard Gallardo that Showing up unannounced and uninvited to the homes of people he politically disagrees with…
https://anewscafe.com/…/far-right-leaders-terrorize…/
I thought there was a video of Richard getting caught by a game warden killing a mother squirl leaving her babies uncared for on a TV show?
Has anybody on this thread actually tour the process in person step-by-step? I’m just curious about that because nobody seems to mention that.
“Curtis called the testing a “waste of time” saying machines can be trained to detect they’re being tested to fool the process.” – Translation: Remember when I said I developed software to flip votes? aka I’m going to cheat in June.
The highly “skewed to the right” staffing of the ROV’s election office is quite concerning. The two items on this November’s ballot are not of great consequence compared to a normal midterm or presidential election, but the polarization of the local participants and advocates is, in my opinion, a threat to fair elections in the future.
Curtis says he’s having a hard time getting Democrats to sign up to help?
With hiring Richard Gallardo, Curtis has made sure he won’t. Who wants to work alongside a bombastic and nasty person who, judging by his online comments, is likely to make the workplace uncomfortable.
Still haven’t seen anything from this ROV to make me change my mind about sitting out this election as a Poll worker.
I thought no votes could be counted until Election Day. Is he counting votes or ballots?
Brad: I’ve reached out to the election office for additional confirmation. The audio recording I have of my interview includes multiple statements from Curtis that’s he’s counting the votes but that only the machine knows what they are. This is hopefully an issue of semantics and vocabulary rather than an issue of something illegal happening. I’m working on clarifying the vocabulary so that we don’t concern people unless concern is warranted and will consider an update to the article once I know more.
Brad: Please note my response to Brent.
State law permits county elections officials to process vote-by-mail ballots starting 29 days before election day. Processing includes signature comparison, extract accepted ballots from envelopes, and scanning the ballots with the tabulators (some also call the tabulation step “counting”). What cannot be done until 8 p.m. on Election Day is to have the voting system software tally the votes in order to produce a results report.
Bob: Thank you.
I received an email from the Secretary of State informing me that my vote had been received and counted. Apparently, the SOS does not have a problem with counting early ballots.
People like Mr. Woodrum are indeed honorable. I chose not to serve in this election cycle, as I have in the past. Still, I, along with lots of other citizens, have written, emailed, and spoken by phone with the Senate Election Committee, the Assembly Election Committee, and Gail Pellein’s office. I was also given a direct email contact to an investigator at the Secretary of State. They have received a lot of communication from Shasta County citizens who are concerned about what ROV Curtis, his crew of extreme far-right New California secessionists (who don’t recognize the State of California as legal), militia members (who I consider white nationalist street thugs), people like Hobbs, who have sued Shasta Co. costing taxpayers over $107,000 demanding their election conspiracy trash is real, (and thrown out of court with admonishment). On Sep. 17, a CPRA was submitted asking for copies of any staffing agreement in any capacity between the Shasta County ROV office and Laura Hobbs, Patty Plumb, Deirdre Holliday, James Burnett, Kari Chilson, Richard Gallardo, and Ronnean Lund. Some of these people have openly advocated that Shasta County break election law while serving on the “Elections Commission” (which has cost Shasta County over $120,000 to advocate conspiracy theories and break law), and I have received nothing. As reported in Shasta Scout, Curtis is in contact with Mr. Trump’s DOJ with the intent to indict Tom Toller and Joanna Francescut for “committing election fraud”; a CPRA was filed, and again, nothing. Most, if not all, of the people above have put the HOBBS Ballot initiative, now slated for the Shasta County Primary Election on June 2, 2026, that could cost taxpayers many millions of dollars, because it is illegal. The State of California is very aware of the Hobbs and Shasta Five nonsense. Remember, all of this is backed and supported by Crye, Corky, and Kelstorm, who put Curtis and his crew in power and control of Shasta County Elections. Yesterday, another CRPA was filed to see if the ROV was in contact with the FBI, the Director of National Intelligence, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (Google Heather Honey’s phone call to election officials). Remember all this when you get a chance to vote for our supervisors and ROV! We need to be spending on infrastructure, first responders, and so much more. It’s time to ROV and BOS crazy, which has cost taxpayers to many MILLIONS to date!
To be clear – No ballots will be counted before polls close Nov 4 th
Please correct.
Also – for added clarity- we invited the SOS to visit and hope her and / or her office return soon.
Thanks Brent. I reviewed my audio recording. Curtis says “all the early vote is being counted now.” He said “only the machine knows the votes.” I will check with him if he spoke in error.
Here’s what I’ve learned from several experts on background. It’s typical to machine-process vote by mail ballots prior to elections. The machines are tabulating vote count data internally, as Curtis described. What can’t occur before 8 pm on election day is running queries on that tabulation to produce a vote count result for staff or the public. That first query would typically occur shortly after the polls close yielding early voting results on Election Day evening.
“In an email statement the morning of Oct. 30, the California Office of the Secretary of State said, “Our office can confirm that staff has visited to observe the county’s new processes; our office has not approved any proposed plans. We are continuing discussions with the county.” Record Searchlight.
Yes. This is what they told us and we quoted.
To be clear Brent, the SOS was coming, invited or not. Also, to be clear, much of Shasta County is also hoping they will be back soon!
Maybe your boss needs to choose his words better. Vernacular matters especially in the times we are living in. Say what you mean and Mean what you say. Just a thought.
Brent, should we be concerned that you can’t even spell your last name correctly?
And yet we are supposed to trust you with our local elections that has so many details and complications??
How did Gallardo and Svetlana (AKA “Laura Hobbs”) pass background checks? I guess those are a waste of time as well?
Hi, I just moved to Shasta County, Redding 96001. I would like to be a part of this process. How can i get more info? What is the process for getting hired/training? I’m currently not working as I just arrived and I strongly believe playing a part in an honest process election is very important.
Thank you, Michelle
There is a basic application to be a poll worker. Training is scheduled this Saturday at the County Admin building at 1450 Court Street, suite 263. Call Trish at 530-225-5893 or 530-515-3142. You can work the full day or a half shift. Work activities take place inside a voting location with a crew of about 4 other people. I’ve always felt safe.
I served as a poll worker during the Bush and Obama administrations, and will serve during this election. I have been very clear about my distrust of Mr. Curtis and his methods but I promised to be impartial during election day duties. The County accepted my assurances. If you have an opportunity, I encourage you to sign up, even for a half day term. Election training is being held in the next few days, at several dates.
Agree Steve! I’ll be there and going to training tomorrow. It’s been a bit frustrating that people who regularly volunteer to work our elections won’t because of their distrust/dislike of Curtis; this is exactly why we need you ❤️🇺🇸❤️