Shasta ROV Curtis says he has requested federal intervention, claiming a lot of June election ballots ‘did not feel or look right’

Shasta County Registrar of Voters Clint Curtis says he has requested intervention from the federal government because a lot of ballots from the June primary election “did not feel or look right.” 

News of Curtis’ request comes from email communication received by Shasta Scout that was obtained through a records request. His request for federal intervention is coming to light more than a month after the June election and almost two weeks after he certified Shasta’s election results, including the results of his own race which he lost to former Assistant ROV Joanna Francescut. 

Shasta’s election official made the claims in emails to California gubernatorial candidate Raji Rab. Curtis told Rab that Shasta’s ballots contained irregularities that prompted him to request federal intervention to authenticate the ballots, something he said could include a third-party review by an entity such as the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

As proof of his claim, Curtis provided Rab with about a dozen testimonials written by election staffers and activists that verbalize alleged irregularities on ballots — such as claims that ballots were printer-made copies — without showing physical proof. Almost every informant donated to Curtis’ election campaign. 

“The information on the suspect ballots has already been submitted to federal agencies but no tests have been done to date,” Curtis wrote in his email to Rab. Curtis also noted the possibility of working with the FBI to determine the authenticity of ballots and said if that agency isn’t available, he plans to research other companies that could do so.

Involving the FBI or other federal agencies in a review of California ballots may violate a new law passed urgently by the California legislature earlier this year, which prohibits law enforcement officers from interfering with elections.

Curtis did not answer questions sent by Shasta Scout, saying that he cannot comment on ongoing investigations. 

The election official’s claims of ballot irregularities have since been amplified by Rab, who wrote to state officials on July 13 expressing concern about the authenticity of Shasta’s ballots amid his own efforts to gain a recount of votes cast on his behalf. 

Speaking to a reporter today, Rab said he’s ready to take the matter to federal court, noting President Donald Trump’s concerns with California elections.

How a little-known candidate for governor got involved

On July 3, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Rab requested California’s secretary of state issue a recount of ballots from the June 2 election, arguing his roughly 3,600 statewide votes were statistically low according to his own analysis. He asked for a free manual recount, saying “extraordinary” costs must not obstruct his rights. 

In response, the secretary of state notified all 58 counties of their responsibility under the law to provide a cost estimate for recount. In a separate communication, the state told Rab he’d need to pay those costs. 

On July 10, Curtis emailed Rab in response to the cost estimate request, claiming there were irregularities in many of Shasta’s ballots and saying he should not have to pay for the recount “if the ballots that are recounted are suspect.” Curtis suggested that Rab should get permission to test Shasta’s ballots and told Rab he’d already requested intervention from federal agencies due to the alleged ballot issues.

Curtis also included in his email about a dozen testimonials — labeled as affidavits, or written statements made under oath — from Shasta election staffers and residents of other counties like San Diego and Sonoma. Several of those who wrote the testimonials said they were part of Take Our California Back, an election integrity organization that has promoted figures outspoken about election skepticism, including Curtis and Douglas Frank. 

The individuals claimed that they had noted several “recurring patterns,” either through their observation of ballot processing livestreams or their physical handling of ballots, and that those patterns may “warrant further examination.” Local election activists like Measure B proponent Deidre Holliday and state partition-proponent Ron Plumb, who both assisted with ballot processing, wrote that they had noticed ballots that appeared to have been machine-printed because the voting response squares were perfectly colored in and had no pen indentations. 

Plumb also said he perceived several ballots as having different weights and paper types than others. He added that it was “remarkable” that some ballots contained votes for both Measure B and Francescut, claiming she opposed the focus points of the measure — something several others also mentioned in their testimonials. Francescut has not publicly taken a stance on Measure B, stating instead that she’ll implement it as long as it’s not struck down by the courts. 

Plumb also noted that Measure B’s provisions are “All supported in ‘The Save America Act’ written and supported by President Donald J. Trump.” 

Another informant, Tim Saunders, alleged that many ballots had an “unusual voting pattern, wherein the ballot would contain votes for both Republican and Democrat candidates inconsistent with conservative or liberal values.” He also claimed hundreds of ballots were filled in with “perfect precision,” saying they appeared to be copies. 

After Rab received the testimonials shared by Curtis, he wrote again to the secretary of state, saying Shasta County should be the first place to start the process of a statewide manual recount “because the alarming developments documented in this supplemental filing originated there.” 

“Accordingly, they independently warrant verification through a free, fair, transparent, and meaningful statewide manual recount,” Rab wrote, “so that every lawfully cast vote may be accurately counted, properly attributed, fully reconciled, and publicly verified, thereby restoring public confidence in California’s electoral process.”

Rab confirmed for a reporter today that he also received a testimonial about alleged election irregularities that Curtis wrote himself, though only the title of the file, not its contents, was included in the records received by Shasta Scout. 

While Rab was not immediately able to provide that document, his letter to the secretary of state indicated that Curtis’ affidavit likely included information about statistical divergences, chain-of-custody concerns and administrative delays affecting election records. 

Rab wrote in his letter that the state’s lack of public response to Curtis’ affidavit is a concern.

“Respectfully, that circumstance itself warrants immediate administrative attention,” Rab said. 

Shasta Scout sent a list of questions to the secretary of state’s office asking whether Curtis has notified that office about his concerns, and seeking to confirm whether there’s a plan of action to address the allegations. The state was also asked to clarify whether a county official’s certification of an election is intended to indicate confidence in its results. The office said it could not immediately provide a response. 

Shasta Scout also asked the state if Curtis’ request for federal intervention might violate SB 73, a new state law that bans law enforcement officers from interfering with elections. It was passed in the wake of Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco’s decision to seize ballots in that county. 

Safeguards included in the law allow the California Attorney General’s and Secretary of State’s Offices to override the authority of a county election official in some circumstances. It’s a provision that may have been intended to address officials like Curtis, who has previously expressed interest in working with federal agencies. 

The state attorney general’s office was also asked about Curtis’ concerns and whether his actions might violate SB 73. A spokesperson responded simply:

“We are aware of the situation and are monitoring it closely.” 

Annelise Pierce contributed reporting for this story.

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