Shasta voters could attempt to break away from California election law in June 

Shasta supervisors did their ministerial duty yesterday by voting to place a citizen-led initiative on Shasta voters ballots next June. 

The ballot initiative calls for election “reform.” If approved by voters, it would update Shasta’s charter to amend how local elections are run in ways that contradict state law. Those proposed changes include hand counting and voter ID requirements as well as one-day voting.

Because petitioners gathered more than the required number of signatures in support of the ballot measure, state law requires supervisors to place the initiative on the ballot. That, despite the fact that the measure is likely to trigger legal battles if voters approve it. 

A less comprehensive ballot initiative allowing officials to check voter IDs was approved by voters in Huntington Beach last year. The new law was immediately challenged by the state in court. Earlier this week an appellate court struck down that city’s law.

County Counsel Joseph Larmour acknowledged the legal threat the ballot initiative poses but emphasized the board’s duty to place the measure on the ballot anyway saying the only way to avoid doing so would be for supervisors to file some sort of legal action with the court.

Supervisor Allen Long specifically asked Larmour about an additional legal concern, that signatures in support of the measure — the wording of which calls for Shasta’s charter law to be amended — were gathered from voters before Shasta was actually approved as a charter county. 

Larmour demurred, saying the issue of whether the ballot initiative itself is legal or illegal doesn’t change the board’s duty to vote to approve placing it on the ballot. In terms signatures having been gathered before the charter was approved, Larmour said the legal issues related to that aren’t simple to answer. He noted the issue could be discussed further in closed session.

After only brief comments, county board members voted unanimously to place the initiative on the ballot in June, with Supervisor Kevin Crye emphasizing that doing so was required and “simply ceremonial.” Last year during a similarly ceremonial vote on whether to certify Shasta’s vote last year, Crye and supervisors Chris Kelstrom and Corkey Harmon added the words “under duress” to their vote. No similar statement was made this time around.

The board’s vote to place the measure on the ballot earned supervisors cheers from members of the public, which included a number of individuals wearing red “Shasta Election Task Force” shirts. The task force, a private citizen group made up of activists, helped gather signatures for the ballot measure.

Shasta’s registrar of voters Clint Curtis has hired a number of Shasta Election Task Force members to serve as extra help staffers during Tuesday’s election. On an apparent day off from their new roles at the election office, at least five task force members — including Laura Hobbs, Antonia Palacio, Bev Gray and Joseph Fairchild — spoke in support of the ballot initiative topic yesterday. 

Hobbs, whose new role at the election office includes transporting ballots from the drop boxes, used her public comment to push supervisors to set a special election date before the June primary, noting that races involving supervisors Crye and Kelstrom as well as her boss Curtis will be on the June ballot.

“Kevin and Chris,” Hobbs said, calling out supervisors Crye and Kelstrom by their first names as she vaguely alleged misconduct against them by former election officials, “they cheated against you in the 2022 primary, but they didn’t cheat enough … my question to you is, are you going to let this happen again?”

Supervisors ignored Hobbs advice and placed the initiative on the June ballot. Election official Curtis also supported the June timing saying waiting to combine the ballot measure with other issues on the ballot mid-year would both save money and reduce stress on his staff.

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