Shasta’s likely to see more provisional ballots voted this election
Shasta’s top election official has instructed poll workers to encourage the use of provisional ballots to alleviate delays caused by his elimination of electronic poll pads. Votes cast provisionally won’t be counted on Election Day.
During poll worker training, Shasta County Registrar of Voters Clint Curtis has been encouraging the use of provisional ballots. He hopes they can provide a workaround for in-person voters who are required to be verified but may not want to wait to confirm their voter registration status.
In the past, many such voters would have been verified using a simple process at the polling place: checking in on electronic poll pads. These digital tools sync automatically to state voter rolls, tracking when ballots are cast. That’s no longer an option because Curtis eliminated the use of electronic poll pads in the last election, citing concerns about security.
Last fall without e-poll pads, poll workers had to confirm voter registration status by reaching out to an elections hotline run by staffers at the Market Street Office, who used a similar computerized system to verify voters. Poll workers reported relatively long wait times as they waited to retrieve voter information on the hotline, and in at least a few instances, the understaffed hotline system led to voter disenfranchisement.
Since then, hotline staffing has been increased, Curtis said. But he’s also encouraging another approach to prevent voter wait times: having poll workers direct voters more quickly to the use of provisional ballots.
A provisional ballot is a regular ballot that’s placed in a special envelope after being filled out at a polling place. Provisional ballots are given to in-person voters if they can’t be verified upon arrival. They’re accounted for separately when polls are closed because they require further verification procedures.
The provisional ballot process is an established part of election procedures that has been in place in California since 1984. Provisional ballots may be used for a variety of reasons, including if a voter shows up at the wrong polling place but still wishes to cast a ballot in person or if they arrive with a damaged or missing ballot. California uses the provisional ballot process to ensure that everyone can vote while still maintaining election security.
But the provisional ballot’s additional verification process means that — unlike most ballots cast in person on Election Day — provisionals won’t be counted the same day. Instead, an election staffer will handle each provisional ballot envelope over the coming weeks to verify each voter before their votes can be counted. It’s a process that occurs within the 28-day window after each election.
In this election, provisional ballots are still likely to make up a relatively small percentage of Shasta’s overall votes. That’s because the vast majority of Shasta community members — more than 90% during the November 2025 election — vote by mail.
Do you have a correction to share? Email us: editor@shastascout.org.
Author
Comments (4)
Leave a comment
Related Articles
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.
Shasta certifies Congressional District 1 Special Primary Election, though other primary results still await certification
Sixty-seven percent of Shasta voters cast their ballots for California Assemblyman James Gallagher. Shasta’s election office has certified the vote for the special congressional election. The rest of the races on the June 2 ballot are not yet certified.
Breaking: California sues Shasta County over Measure B
The ballot initiative, which has just been approved by voters, set out to impose voter ID and eliminate mail-in voting — among other changes to local election procedures, which appear to contradict California law. The state had previously warned it was prepared to act if Shasta County attempted to circumvent state authority over elections. Today it did.
The irony is that voter disenfranchisement at polling places owing to Curtis’s cluster-hump of new cumbersome processes (e.g., registration confirmation via an “election hotline”) is going to affect conservative Republican voters the most, as they’re more in favor of traditional in-person voting.
.
Same goes for eliminating drop boxes in the more rural parts of Shasta County, which lean more conservative than Redding. Great idea, Clint. Make it more difficult for MAGA voters out in the sticks to vote for you, you mouth-breathing twit.
If Kathy Darling Allen had pushed provisional ballots like Curtis is these MAGAts would be calling bloody murder!
FU Curtis
100%
I attended the Inspector training on Thursday and was given this information. Most voters who come in person on election day want their vote counted that day. He also wanted to discourage voters who lost their envelopes from getting a replacement, which has been a standard for years. He told us that is was hard to verify those and their vote might not be counted.