Voter Suppression Becomes Hot Topic at Shasta Elections Commission Meeting
Newly appointed Elections Commissioner Brad Garbutt says eliminating most mail-in ballots and moving to one-day voting is a form of voter suppression. Commission Chair Ronnean Lund says that’s not true because those policy changes would allow everyone the same ability to vote.
On September 23, during a meeting of the Shasta County Elections Commission, Chair Ronnean Lund took issue with a statement made to the media by newly-appointed Election Commissioner Brad Garbutt.
Garbutt recently told Action News Now that a recommendation from the Elections Commission to institute one-day voting in the County would be “tantamount to voter suppression.”
Not true, said Lund. As part of her public response to Garbutt, Lund shared a definition of voter suppression, which includes any measure, legal or illegal, whose purpose or practical effect is to reduce voting, or registering to vote, by members of a targeted racial group, political party, or religious community.
Returning to a policy of one-day voting with limited absentee balloting, Lund told Garbutt, is not voter suppression because “it affords everyone the same opportunity to vote and does not target any specific group.”
While one-day voting would not specifically target a racial, political or religous group, the nonprofit Brennan Center for Justice indicates that implementing one-day voting may indeed place a burden on particular populations including the young, the old, the poor and the disabled. Other problematic policies for voting access mentioned by the Brennan Center for Justice in its statement on voter suppression include rules that restrict voter registration, implement purges of voter rolls, or require voter identification, all of which have been discussed by the Shasta County Election Commission over recent months.
The disagreement regarding voter suppression highlights a central difference of opinion among commissioners about what matters most in the election process. While Garbutt appears focused on making voting access easier, a majority of Shasta Elections Commissioners, including Lund, advocate making voting laws stricter because of concerns about election fraud.
As Lund pointed out, until recently, voting in person was the norm statewide. That changed in 2021, when California became the eighth state in the nation to permanently implement universal mail-in ballots. The change in law worries some, including Lund, who believe the use of universal mail-in ballots increases the chance of election fraud.
Shasta County Registrar of Voters (ROV) Tom Toller was recently appointed to his position in response to vocal concerns from a small number of Shasta County community members about the possibility of election fraud. But so far, Toller says he’s seen no evidence of significant issues with the local election process. Earlier this year, a lawsuit against the Elections Office was dismissed by a Shasta County judge due to lack of evidence. The plaintiff in that lawsuit, failed candidate for supervisor Laura Hobbs, is one of about a dozen members of the public who speak up at most Elections Commission meetings to repeat unproven allegations of election fraud.
The County’s attorney has also expressed concern about the Elections Commission’s recommendation on one-day voting, which he said includes internal contradictions. And ROV Toller has said he won’t implement it because it contradicts state law.
Despite those statements, Lund emphasized this week that she doesn’t believe there’s anything illegal about the recommendation. Then she focused in on Garbutt’s public comments about the Elections Commission.
“He’s obviously here with an agenda to disrupt the process,” Lund said, referring to Garbutt, “and the fact that he is perpetrating lies on the news while appearing to be speaking with some authority . . . I think this is tantamount to being a criminal, and if it continues, I will add an item to a future agenda to discuss formally requesting that the board remove Mr. Garbutt from the Commission.”
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One day voting would be impossible for me I’m disabled and can’t walk far.
I sincerely hope our ROV and this “Commission” were watching the news today as former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters got sentenced to 9 years in prison on 3 counts of attempting to influence a public servant, one count of conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation, first degree official misconduct, violation of duty and failure to comply with an order from the Colorado Secretary of State.
This completely blows any “Mesa Pattern of Fraud” completely out of the water, so sorry conspiracy fans!
The “Commission” is currently in what the younger folks would call the “Eff Around” stage. If they continue down this road, especially like many did the last General Election trying to bully the County Clerk, they might find themselves firmly ensconced in the “Find Out” stage afterwards.
Still waiting for someone to provide proof of the so-called mass election fraud that is happening in Shasta county…
Lots of claims and hearsay that has been debunked, but not a shred of proof…
The system isn’t broken, there is no evidence of fraud in our past elections. If you have proof of it, then were our current county supervisors really elected? Where is the evidence of fraud? Just because you claim fraud, doesn’t mean it occurred. Where’s the proof?
I personally enjoy sitting at home with my ballot and a cup of coffee while I carefully review all of the measures and candidates. This is my method of making an informed decision about how I’m going to vote. Then I seal that ballot up and drop it off at my own convienence. I also get to track my ballot as it moves though the system. I like not having to worry about being out of town or working late, affecting my ability to cast my vote. Stop spitting out lies about voter fraud. They’re LIES!
Toller wants to obey the law? How did he get appointed by a Board of Supervisors which, for the most part, flaunts the law?
I don’t understand how Lund can say these new rules wouldn’t affect any special group, that is a lie. It will definitely affect the disabled, the people who have no transportation and live in outlying areas, people who might work unusual hours or more than one job, or people who have small children and no daycare. To me it only works for Lund and of course Jones and Crye the MAGA election deniers who have absolutely no proof of ANY election fraud unless you’re a conspiracy theorist or QAnon member. Shasta County was a better place before they started all this insanity.
Two important election votes in Shasta County-November 5, 2024. Vote Mary Rickert for another term and undo all the onerous actions that the current BoS majority have done to us. And Vote NO on Measure P & Q. This will send Chriss Street back to Orange Co. and Patrick Jones back to his pig farm.
I will cast my District 3 vote for Corky Harmon. It is time for a change. There is good reason for term limits. When an elected representative looses their perspective and objectivity they are no longer effective. All you have to do is watch the BOS meetings to see where the problems are.
So Lund threw the first punch. Brad does not spread lies.
I can’t wait for one day voting and hand count!
We already hand count, your wait is over!
The 1% hand count audit is not a true hand count. Get rid of hackable elections equipment period. The truth will set you free.
You don’t understand statistical sampling and how it is used to verify the machine count is accurate.
Also the machines are not connected online.
We don’t use hackable vote tabulators. Look up “air gap” as it pertains to vote tabulation machines.
There are several ways the machines can be hacked. Have you looked inside the machines? Oh, that’s right it’s all a proprietary black box.
Have you ever had a college level course in statistics? I have. Random sampling 1% of the data set is the gold standard when auditing any scientific results.
Brad,
Hand counting by human beings 100% of the time is the Platinum standard when auditing any real results.
We machine count. Not the same. Need to human count votes per issue, per candidate at each voting precinct on only election day, every election no exceptions. The old fashioned way.
Elizabeth: You mean the method that hasn’t been used since before the 1960s?
Again, why is it only now that people are complaining?
Oh yeah, that’s right. Because the MAGA Cult demanded it because Pharoah Trump has said, “So let it be written, so let it be done!”
Any less, and you’d actually have to admit that your man legitimately lost and you were WRONG, and that is simply too much for all of the MAGA Cult fragile egos to handle, the whole narcissistic bunch.
I support one day voting and hand counting the ballots. I plan to vote at my precinct on election day. I do not agree with the mass mailing of absentee ballots. That system was used during Covid. It is no longer necessary. If people need to use the absentee system they can request their ballot be mailed to them. It is not a big deal and does not suppress voters.
Only 6% of voters would qualify to vote absentee if we go back to pre-1978 laws which is what the three other elections commissioners recommended to the Board of Supervisors. That means 94% of registered voters would have to show up on ED to vote. 85% would have to change the way they vote to make the 11% happy. I will never vote at a polling place again, which is exactly what the election deniers want.
It’s all about convenience to you and others. Do you care about transparent and secure elections? Voting is a citizen’s extremely important privilege that is worth some effort by citizens. Precinct voting is the most secure way to vote. Absentee ballots can be granted on a case-by-case need.
Again, as a private citizen, voting at a polling place is not as secure as you think. You still have the potential for chain of custody issues since your ballots must be transported from the polling place to the election office. There is the possibility people outside the polling place will engage in electioneering. There is the possibility you will not be able to get off work in time to vote in person. There is the possibility you are very ill that day and can’t or won’t go to a polling place due to concern for your health and the health of others. If you were to suggest voters would have several weeks, not a single day, to vote, I would be more receptive to your suggestion.
Bruce R.
Bull.
As Brad noted, the only reason people like you want this isn’t for transparency, because in over 60 years of machine counted voting, only NOW are you and others raising holy hell about it.
It’s because:
1. You can’t intimidate voters if you don’t see them.
2. By restricting all voting to a single day, you artificially inflate vote counts because you know damn well most the people who won’t vote for your candidates won’t be able to show up in person, be it because of age, job, disability or other limiting factor.
You are absolutely right in one aspect. Voting is a extremely important privilege, and it should be the responsibility of the government to ensure that EVERYBODY registered to vote is permitted to have their say, regardless of the method used.
There is ZERO proof that Vote By Mail increases Voter Fraud, you have shown no proof to the contrary. You have not provided any credible evidence into the ability of voting machines to be hacked, and no, those little Youtube videos don’t count because are intentionally one-sided and meant to engage and rely on the ignorance of the viewer and their lack of knowledge as to how things actually work.
You realize if you are in the hospital or somewhere you can’t get out, your vote will not be cast.
Gotta think ahead. It’s called prepping.
Elizabeth:
Yeah, we do think ahead, that is why we now have a vote by mail option.
You don’t know if tomorrow will come, if you will be in a car accident, or have a medical emergency that will limit your ability to go to a polling place.
Your statement simply shows your narcissism and ignorance.
Of course it’s voter suppression. One day voting discriminates against people who are bed ridden, in the hospital that day, who are on vacation that day, who live in rural areas and don’t have transportation to polling places and those who have anxiety issues about crowded places to name a few. It also allows for direct voter intimidation by armed thugs who hang out by polling places to scare off ‘undesirables’. With the high percentage of vote by mail voters it’s designed to limit voter turnout to just the more fortunate residents just like the poll tax used to.
The article brings up the district 2 race court challenge. Sadly, Democrat appointed Judge Baker ignored State law regarding order of placement of candidates on the ballot which has been shown to have a significant impact on voting. Many in this community demand we follow State law but not in this case. Judge Baker also ignored significant election problems including the fact there were more votes cast in district 2 than people who voted by about 167.For whatever reason, judges throughout the country try to avoid or deal with election issues. Laura Hobbs is a patriot who loves her country and just wants fair elections. She should be applauded for her efforts. Hopefully her court appeal is successful.
Bruce:This is misinformation. The judge didn’t ignore the law, Hobbs attorney failed to prove that the mistake made by the elections office was reason to hold a new election. I sat through the entire court hearing. I saw you there for at least some of it. Let’s be honest about what happened.
Yes, I was there. I am being honest. The democrat appointed judge wanted Lex Rex to bring in so called experts to study the area and pontificate about how the ordering names on the ballot would change the election results. This would have cost a massive amount of money and precious time. There already were pertinent documents available as to how the placement of names on the ballot can affect the election but not specific to Shasta County (3% to 5% change). Typical maneuver by a judge to get out of dealing with the problem. Judges have too much power to discard evidence such as what was presented. Was the judge pressured by the State or others to make the case go away (hopefully no)? Your bias and disdain for Laura Hobbs and election integrity issues is obvious in your reporting. Be honest, you lean heavily left most issues. Again, hopefully the appeal is successful. Sadly, it costs a private citizen a small fortune to fight for justice in our complicated legal process.
Give me a break Bruce.
Literally everyone that disagrees with you is part of some conspiracy or agenda according to you.
There are so many people involved in this so-called conspiracy of yours that if any little bit of that conspiracy were true, proof would come out in some way, shape, or form. So many people involved in that conspiracy that it wouldn’t be able to hold it together like you’re claiming.
According to the way you tell it, most of the people in Shasta county are in on this conspiracy!! Yet according to you, most of the people in Shasta county think just like you do.
Bruce R You and Ms. Hobbs are the ones costing me and you precious tax dollars by appealing on the grounds of having no lawful grounds for appeal. But I have a feeling you’re not going to get it, just as Laura Hobbs doesn’t get it. How dare Hobbs foisted herself off at Bethel Church recently as an Election Worker and advising them how to engage in the November election. Bethel leaders and Board of Trustees should denounce her immediately. Got a beef with Judge Baker, send a complaint to the CA Judges Commission, bet you won’t get anywhere.
And Hobbs appeal just got punted out of the Appellate Court so fast, it was a 2 sentence decision.
In legal speak, this is akin to, “Why the F are you wasting my time with this? Go away.”
Nobody is drinking your Kool-Aid, nobody believes Hobbs or any of the MAGA Maniacs out there to help anybody but themselves, because their overinflated sense of ego and entitlement has them convinced they are better than everybody else and by ghod, they should be allowed to impose their will on everybody!
You want proof of this? Go read Project 2025.
Well, so much for Laura’s appeal. One has to wonder when people are so very verbal about their insistence about elections not being fair, and then are too incompetent to fill out legal forms in a timely manner. Makes one wonder about everything they swear is true, eh? At least that one didn’t end up costing us taxpayers a small fortune to fight for justice.
Is this the Bruce named Ross?
Curious minds would like to know.
Who is your employer?
No
Bruce R can speak for himself, but if you are talking about the Bruce Ross who works for our local senator, that is me and nope!
Again, well-said.
I agree with you Bruce. It would have been so easy to add these names back on the ballot for this election. Now we still have doubt and suspicion and if we dare to express such the name calling begins. Such a sad statement to our county. Everyone’s opinions and concerns should be heard, and when possible acted upon. This keeps the system honest. Yet here we are, with an election system that was not chosen by the people. A system that is not transparent and in reality, does not work effectively or efficiently.
she had her days in court and she lost. Not unlike all the dozens of alleged election fraud filed across the state and country since to 2020 election. Thank god for our courts and judges or these election deniers would destroy our democracy.
Brad, I am surprised that you, as someone appointed to represent the community on the election board, is so closed to the fact that it wasn’t just Laura who lost on that day in court. What about all those people who voted for her? Matter-of-fact, what about her opponent and the people who voted for him? The errors and inconsistencies in that election remain and cast a shadow of doubt on the credibility of the election process. It would have been such an easy problem to solve in this next election. Now we have no choice but to await the appeal. All very unfortunate for the citizens of Shasta County in my opinion.
Only a small percentage of voters voted for her. In fact, if she had all the votes from the other two candidates who lost, she still would have lost, right?
@Concerned:
Hobbs joke of an appeal was dismissed.
We agree with Gail’s comments (above). We can’t imagine the 1-day voting. Impossible for so many. Please de-commission the Election commison!!!!!! Who decided to have an Elections Commission?????
I just looked through the California Code and the website of the California Secretary of State and I cannot find the specific verbiage Lund is using. If it does not exist in the law, it is not legal to use it to define a term, especially one such as voter suppression .
If Lund was really interested in public opinion she should poll our county. She is listening to Jones and a small minority in the county about mail in voting and other unproven conspiracy theories. For this reason this disingenuous election commission needs to be dissolved. Nothing has been accomplished by this commission which Garbutt is pointing out. Lund is simply promoting her personal beliefs.
Stewart H- I’ve been filling out a paper ballot here for decades. How have you been voting in Shasta county?
The comments here prove the system in place works. Many of the complaints about voter rolls are unfounded as that record is not static- it changes daily. Our election office staff works diligently to update. Tom Toller has observed and concurs.
The comments here do not prove the system works at all. You’re dealing with proprietary black software that has been shown to be easily hacked. Europe and other countries have been getting rid of electronic voting equipment and are hand counting paper ballots due to fraud. Also, many countries have banned mail in voting because of fraud. America is clearly late to the game on election integrity and transparency. If you want and fair transparent elections, voter convenience may not always be possible. Voting is a privilege that requires effort by citizens. Sadly, the legacy media continues to lie to the American people about the significant vulnerabilities of our election system. Polls show a majority of Americans do not trust our election system. Willful ignorance of compelling evidence of fraud in elections throughout the country is a serious problem today. Only several years back Democrats were up in arms about election fraud, not so much today.
Well state Bruce. If our leaders at this point cannot state publicly that there was massive fraud going on in 2020, spelling out all the ways it was going on they are not qualified to say everything is ok.
But I understand. Anyone who sticks his neck out will be ridiculed, canceled or if they are important enough receive lawfare attacks.
Massive fraud??? Seems like there were over 60 court cases following the 2020 election in which no significant fraud was found, much less “massive”.
Almost all cases but a few or so were thrown out due to lack standing. The evidence was never looked at. Lack of standing is judicial gimmick to avoid looking at the evidence in a case.
Incorrect, Bruce.
30 of the lawsuits were dismissed after the judge heard them. They were dismissed either due to lack of evidence or lack of standing, which means they are unable to demonstrate that they have a sufficient connection to and harm from the law or action being challenged.
Try again.
Question: Since we use two methods to tabulate votes, how does one rig the random hand count audit to exactly match the full machine count? Plus we don’t use voting equipment and only use paper ballots, right?
Thank you, Bruce.
Are you a computer expert or are you relying on someone with this information? Sounds a little farfetched to me.
Bruce R…1. We aren’t in Europe, or some dictator-led country. 2. Sorry you’re against the disabled being able to vote conveniently. 3. What so-called ‘legacy media’ are you talking about ? Hannity & Gang ? 4. Provide evidence/proof of election fraud in Shasta County. We’re waiting, try again.
Standing: In law, standing or locus standi is a condition that a party seeking a legal remedy must show they have, by demonstrating to the court, sufficient connection to and harm from the law or action challenged to support that party’s participation in the case. Wikipedia
Meaning: was there evidence that the complainant was harmed by the challenged action.
Doesn’t sound like a judicial gimmick to me.
You might want to watch your words carefully there. FOX News didn’t and got rung up to the tune of $787 Million for their lies.
Also, there were 62 lawsuits purporting fraud filed after the 2020 Election
62.
EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM FAILED.
There is an old saying I like to use in these cases:
When one person is mad at you, they are the jerk
When everybody is mad at you, YOU are the jerk
Take it for what you will.
I hope to see the three Karens on this committee doing the perpwalk soon.
I think this is ridiculous that they are talking about removing Garbutt. Its perfectly acceptable for someone to believe differently than the board, that is how democracy works. Differing sides say their opinions, and then vote. Trying to homogenize a council to fit a narrative is exactly what the far right condemns, and here they are threatening to do it themselves.
Enough of this circus for heaven’s sake.
The Elections Commission must present their final report and recommendations by December 31, 2024. And then be disolved.
This all depends on how the District 3 Supervisor race comes out.
Eliminating vote by mail does, in fact, create voter suppression. We live in a very rural area in Shasta County, so small in fact a voter polling location simply does not exist. My husband works 10 hour days and commutes nearly 50 miles, he couldn’t possibly get back to our area in time to vote before the polls close. My mother is elderly (but mentally astute) and no longer drives so I would have to drive 50 miles to pick her up and take her to her polling location. But even then, she couldn’t physically stand in a booth to vote.
Voting matters. A mandate requiring everyone to vote on the same day and in-person makes the assumption that it causes no hardship or suppression of others ability to vote, which is completely inaccurate and self-centered. What the proposed restriction simply means is that it’s not a hardship on that individual.
Gail, I don’t believe anyone is saying we need to eliminate vote by mail. The objection is to the mass mailing of ballots to all households. Under the old system, which worked much better than our current system, you could always request and absentee ballot. This absentee ballot could then be filled out and mailed to the Clerks office. Those of us who object to this are concerned because we have a Constitutional Right to a free and fair election process. The current process does not allow for an audit of the machines, there no way to see if our votes are being counted correctly. Also, we now have to wait 30 days for results. Under the previous system we knew with in 24 hours.
The current process audits the machine count with a statistical sample. What do you find so hard to understand? Our ballots are paper ballots and they are counted by a machine that’s similar to a Scantron machine that used to score your tests in school. It just counts! It can’t change anything, and the audit assures that.
Speaking here as a private citizen, not as an Election Commissioner, it takes several weeks to complete the hand count audit, receive ballots postmarked on or before Election Day that are mailed from overseas (military members and others), and giving voters who had their ballot rejected due to signature irregularities time to cure the problem. I would rather be patient and have the final tally be accurate than rush to certification prior to everyone having the opportunity to vote and completing the hand count to verify the machine count.
My personal opinion is that they want to eliminate Vote By Mail so that PHJ and CO can get Woody to get his “Meal Team Six” goon squad to sit outside polling places and intimidate voters. Remember this is the same group that planted a camera outside the Elections office backdoor and bullied Cathy Darling-Allen into heart failure.
You can’t intimidate people if they vote by mail!
He is an honorable man. The Commission should be disbanded. It is costing the County money and they have not accomplished anything
They actually have accomplished making our state legislators making new legislation to make their decisions illegal. LOL
Just to clarify the question of what is the “norm”: In Shasta County, the last time more voters cast ballots in precincts than by mail was George W. Bush’s re-election in 2004. It was the choice of a large majority of our local voters even before the 2020 switch to sending mail ballots to everyone in California.
Don’t take some Internet rando’s word for it. The detailed statistics are available for anyone to enjoy on the Secretary of State’s website: https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/statistics/voter-participation-stats-county.
Shasta Rocks: Thanks for driving us back to the data and sharing a link that everyone can view. Standing applause.
Garbutt’s right.
Lund wants to break the law. She strikes me as a little off kilter. She scares me, actually. She is advocating voter suppression. I get nervous when people like her have a position of power of any kind.
An unlawful law.
Isn’t that an oxymoron? 🤣
So before 2021 and for 171 years sending a ballot to everyone was not voter suppression until the Democrats decided it was. I strongly support the commissioners who want voting processes from registration and citizen verification to counting processes more transparent and auditable. Paper ballots do that.
The European Parliament recently declared Venezuela’s exiled presidential candidate Edmundo González as the country’s legitimate and democratically elected president. Reports from election observers “clearly” indicated that the July 28 Venezuelan presidential election failed to meet international standards for electoral integrity.
Of course we could say these are just unproven allegations of election fraud but that would not be an honest appraisal of the statistical anomalies, blocking observers, double counting of votes, statistically impossible ballot drops of thousands of votes for one candidate for one candidate only etc…
I agree that rolling back the ‘absentee ballot to everyone concept’ may be hard to accomplish as people have become accustomed to the convenience but it does open up the process to bad actors. Everyone, if they care about Democracy, should work together to make the system we have more auditable not less. Make no mistake the vote is under attack. People in the country illegally are being registered to vote. I’ve seen them say so. Only an evil regime, drunk with their power, would do that to American citizens.
There are states in this country that do nothing but drop-off or mail-in ballots. Some of them are Red States. Stewart, get your info together. Until Democrats started pushing mail-in ballots, it was a mostly Republican method of voting. Whine, whine, whine.
There are three counties in California that only use VBM. They are Colusa, Alpine and Sierra Counties. 100%VBM. No polling places on ED. If you want to vote in person, you can stop by the Election Office if you so choose.
Stewart H, I totally agree with you. I might add that I believe paper voting is very inexpensive compared to mail in ones. Approximately $ 20 each for cost of mail ins compared to approximately $ 2 each for paper votes. That adds up to a lot of money in any county. Also, a lot has recently been coming out on the rigged voting machines that can be accessed online and change votes with one stroke of a key. What happened in 2021 to make the Dems want to change things???
Marcia: Can you cite your source for the cost of ballots? Many thanks.
It was part of the board packet. Patti Plumb’s ad hoc committee “preliminary report” states in writing when you vote at polling places the only expense is the $1.87 cost to print the ballot. Vote by mail costs $19.50/ ballot. I asked why it costs so much and she said the rest of the cost is for extracting the ballot from the envelope. Hmmmmm!
The only problem with your story Marcia is that the voting machines in Shasta County aren’t connected online via WiFi, Bluetooth, or by any other method.
There is also a handcount audit of the paper ballots to make sure that the machine count matches what is on the paper ballots. We know that it’s accurate because of the method used that’s called statistical sampling.
And you don’t even have to take my word for it, look up statistical sampling for yourself and you can see why that method actually works to ensure that everything was accurate.
Unless, of course, you are not open to verifiable facts and instead have a story to spin…
Those costs are not true. I pointed that out to Patti Plumb and she knows those numbers are grossly inaccurate. She said the extra $16 for mailed and drop box ballots is due to the cost of removing the ballot from the envelope. Does that sound reasonable? If so, I will do it for $10/ballot.
I guess at this point, true journalists would know That Smartmatic is currently in litigation. In more than one suit. For a litany of reasons, we should go back to paper ballots. They were fair and not questioned to the amount that every single computerized counting machine has been. Not to mention there are no election results for at least 30 days. it’s time to let reality set in !! And yes, why are the Democrats so adamant about not doing any of this!? That’s because they cheat PERIOD
Jon, I guess that any informed citizen would no by now that newsmax just had to pay Smartmatic a ton of money for propagating MAGA Big Lies.
I guess an informed citizen would understand. Smartmatic stand s to pocket a great deal. More money in upcoming court cases, because the unsubstantiated allegations, that are nothing but false information, are basically the same lies resulting in almost a billion paid out to Dominion and other manufacturers of voting tabulators, and that Supervisor Cry’s mentor and hero, who’s about ready to file bankruptcy, stand s to pay out many more millions to Dominion soon. It’s not a consequence. That Shasta County also spent millions terminating their contract with Dominion.
I guess any informed citizen would know by now that over 25 Big Lie officials working on the behalf of trump, have pleaded guilty to election violations. Additionally, there are over 20 x trump administrations officials and supporters facing court cases involving attempts of election fraud.
Shasta County has been used, at the cost of our reputation and tight financial resources to pimp for MAGA. I guess a reasonably informed Shasta County citizen would understand that’s why Jones lost his seat, BIGGKY, and why with one of his flunkies named Hobbs, he tried to deny Shasta County certification of the last vote. And I guess any reasonable citizen would be able to infer tod the attempted Jones/Hobbs election case was so pathetic it didn’t stand in court for a day before it was thrown out on its ass.
Hopefully, any reasonable and informed Shasta County citizen has come to the point that the MAGA assault upon our County perpetrated by the J.C.J. Cartel and their election commission is nothing but partisan politics, a losing proposition that Shasta County citizens, and the majority of Americans are rejecting.
I think it’s reasonable t that any informed voter will say enough is enough, it’s time to vote for a cohesive, safe and sane board of supervisors and time to get rid of the sherrod called the election commission. It’s time to move forward and stop this pathetic nonsense.
Christian,
Make Elections Great Again. “MEGA”
1) All hand counting by human beings.
2) No AI voting machines.
3) One week “Voter Week” only.
4) Clean up voter rolls every 6 years.
5) Eliminate middleman DMV motor voter law.
When you renew your drivers license at the DMV, once you have entered your personal information you can then register to vote. There is nothing to stop a non citizen from registering to vote.
Concerned…you are flat out wrong, the system has a legal warning and the repercussions behind it…your statement is bordering on racism.
Happy Citizen obviously has not been voting long.
When I came of age and voted in my first election in the 1990’s we used the punch card ballots (Remember the Hanging Chad controversy in 2000? These were the cards being used)
You know how they read them? THROUGH A COMPUTER.
There hasn’t been hand counting of ballots in OVER 30 YEARS.
And only NOW people are griping about it?
Yeah, only because they are ignorant and drinking the MAGA Kool Aid.
Jon Stadille….Now, if I would have stated that Republicans cheat, my comment would be removed post haste, let’s have some equality here in statement making.
Frank: this is a quote from the League of Women Voters regarding the Motor Voter Law: “CA’s law offers some protection against any state law penalties should someone inadvertently register to vote or mistakenly vote as a result of their DMV transaction. (Note: These state law protections may mitigate the potential federal immigration consequences for persons who inadvertently register to vote, but may not offer full protection.)”
Again, we don’t need to go back to paper ballots since we have always used paper ballots and only paper ballots. We do not vote using machines. The only machines we use are vote tabulation machines. And their results are verified with hand counting. Shasta County elections are free, secure and trustworthy. Get out and vote. Your vote counts. Your vote will be counted. The results will be certified as 100% correct. No cheating. Nothing is rigged. Those who vote twice will be caught and referred to the DA for investigation and prosecution. There were two such incidents in the March 2024 primary. Two cases of fraud out of roughly 45,000 votes cast. Those two voters were disqualified and their votes not included in final tally.
Until you actually work in the elections office and observe the process you are just spouting misinformation. And last I checked, Shasta County does not use smartmatic or dominion voting systems.
Why don’t you utilize your right to observe how the election works before propagating misinformation that is just adding more fuel to the fire. I have been an absentee ballot consumer for over 20 years because nobody has a right to know how I vote. Even pollworkers when they hand out the ballots, it’s no ones business how people vote.
Do you want some cookies to go with that koolaid and whining?! Democrat’s aren’t heathens, they want free, fair and honest elections as much as everyone else. You’re just listening to the war cry of the Republican leader!!! To him, everyone is a cheater.
the 3 stooges have ALREADY wasted a whole lot of tax payer’s money getting out of the Dominion contract! OVER a million $ wasted on a false claim by a big sore loser. There was NO proof of election fraud, NONE! They appointed their magas to this commission and are doing all they can to make Shasta Co the laughing stock of the country! Don’t let them take over our county, they do NOT work for the better good of us ALL! IT’S OUR RIGHT to vote however we choose!
Drinking the koolaid ? You state you have seen them “say so” how do you do that? Or was it the same illegals that eat dogs and cats? Your empowerment to spew such ridiculous rhetoric that the Trump , QANON , internet or the cousins friends next door neighbors pool boy saw them do it. It is illegal for illegals to vote. Stop embarrassing yourself. When the minority of voters lose you whine and try to cheat your way to back your candidate or opinions. We are tired of the silliness
We now have a law in California called the motor voter law. This law means when you apply for a drivers license in California you can register to vote. Yes, it is illegal to do so if you are not a citizen but tell me, if you break our laws to get into this country are you going to be concerned with voter registration laws?
The majority of citizens who are offered to register to vote at DMV decline. If they do decide to register, they must provide last 4 digits of their SS# and of course their CDL#. Those are scrubbed against state and national data bases. If not a US citizen, they are rejected. They also may be charged with perjury. They could end up being deported. Non-US citizens are very unlikely to attempt registering, unless they really want a one-way ticket out of the country.
Immigrants won’t run the risk of voting and being deported. Stop it! Just like if you get a dozen vote by mail forms, send them in and see if they get past ALL OF THE measures that are in place AND will only process LEGAL ballots! And enjoy your 5 years in prison for voter fraud!
so tired!
We have always used paper ballots and only use paper ballots. We do not use voting machines (with the exception being for the disabled who can use a machine that allows them to mark a ballot electronically, then prints their ballot to be tabulated with all the other paper ballots). We also hand count a random 1% sample of the machine counted ballots to ensure accuracy of the machines. Nearly 90% of Shasta County voters used VBM, only 11% showing up at a polling place for the March 2024 Primary. The only two cases of election fraud in the Shasta County March Primary were due to people voting twice, once by mail or drop box then again at a polling place on Election Day. Both voters were reported to the DA for investigation and possible prosecution. The bar code on our ballots are unique to each voter. When a VBM ballot is returned via mail or drop box, both the signature and bar code are verified before the ballot is extracted from the envelope and tabulated. Anyone registering to vote must provide their ID or driver’s license# and the last four digits of their SS# which are scrubbed against the State and Federal databases for verification. Anyone who is not a US citizen and attempts to register is committing perjury, subject to arrest, prosecution and deportation. We do not live in Venezuela which is a dictatorship at present. All of your suspicions are baseless conspiracy theories so perhaps you can cite your source. I am the only Election Commissioner following the letter of the law and my sworn oath of office. And because of that, they want to get rid of me.
Brad you are 100% correct and you gave a lot more detail than I did.
The bottom line is that in Shasta County every single vote is on a paper ballot, statistical sampling with a hand count is used to verify that the machine count was accurate, there’s no online connection, and a ton more security features are in place to ensure that it is a fair secure election.
Thank you for your work and for standing up for what is factually correct.
Brad: Here is an explanation quoted from the League of Women Voters regarding the Motor Voter Law: “CA’s law offers some protection against any state law penalties should someone inadvertently register to vote or mistakenly vote as a result of their DMV transaction. (Note: These state law protections may mitigate the potential federal immigration consequences for persons who inadvertently register to vote, but may not offer full protection.)” In my opinion, the sytem we have in place right now in California is open to many types of fraud. As a citizen, I have a right to challenge and to question this system. I need to be assured that my vote is held sacred. In this current system one can “inadvertantly register to vote.” One can also “inadvertanly vote”. This gives me zero confidence that my vote will be held sacred. Yet, when I or others question or challenge we are subject to ridicule and name calling. Our concerns and opinions are not respected. Our rights are being denied.
Hey Concerned! If you are that concerned, you can spend 20 hours observing the process on Election Day and every day leading up to election day. So until you are ready to actually watch how the elections department handles the paper ballots, why don’t you put a sock in it. That’s also your right. It’s my right to vote privately, which means, not in front of poll workers, or observers or even intimidators.
I have taken them on line course and volunteered to observe. There is no need to be so crude or judgemental. It is my right to insist on a free and fair election. Not only is that my right but it is also my responsibility. I think Garbutt has a responsibility as a sworn and appointed election committee rep. to respect the concerns of the community. There are many flaws in this system of voting we have had forced upon us. That is the reason for the election committee. There is so much name calling and disrespect on this thread with regard to our Supervisors and the work that they do. I will say I find it sad and I applaud our Conservative Board for standing up too abuse and disrespect and doing what is right for the entire community not just the vocal few.
Also, for FYI your ballots were cast in a booth as they are now not in front of poll workers. I worked in the polls when we hand counted. It was safe, efficient, accurate and secure. This current system is fraught with flaws.
Stewart: All voting in Shasta county is done on paper ballots.
Every single vote is on a paper ballot. Every. Single. One.
Those ‘machines’ are glorified tabulators. They count the votes (that are already on a paper ballot) much quicker and accurately than humans. And basically that’s it. They count.
Afterwards, there is an actual hand count audit that is done with a percentage of the ballots to ensure that the machine count was accurate. This method is a form of statistical sampling.
Statistical sampling is something that is known, proven, and accepted by CPAs, auditors, academics, scientists, etc.
But don’t let pesky facts get in the way of your story/narrative.
According to Stewart:
‘People in the country illegally are being registered to vote. I’ve seen them say so.’
Well gosh Stewart! I sure hope you reported them so that we can prevent real election fraud! That would be your civic duty to do so.
Or is this just more hearsay? I mean, I’m sure a person such as yourself would provide facts and not just hearsay.
Right?
Well said and right, Stewart.
You should educate yourself with out being so vile.
Stewart H, you’ve produced zero evident of your claims. If you’re going to rattle off such non-factual statements, please provide one incident of an illegal alien registering to vote in California. Oh, and who’s that ‘bad actor’ you’re talking about, are his initials DT ?
seriously?
“He’s obviously here with an agenda to disrupt the process,” Lund said.
…
…
Wait…so Lund doesn’t think she is trying to disrupt the election process with her own agenda?
100% agree.
Where did Jones find the people on this committee? Do they have any experience in election laws? I believe Lunds recommendation violates Federal Law which states no voter changes can be made within 90 days of an election; we are less than 40 days now! This change could impact many of our local constituents who will need to make alternative arrangements. This board is despicable, and doesn’t care about Redding!
Vickie: I don’t believe there was a timeline on the recommendation although it said it should be done “as soon as possible”.
I don’t have an agenda. I am nonpartisan, registered as an Independent. NPP. I have never been asked by Chairperson Lund if there is anything I would like to place on agenda for discussion. The only agenda is her agenda.
Thanks for representing us. I find it difficult to fathom that Shasta County is still 100% behind the BIG LIE! Even their savior, Trump, is admitting he lost. We need more people like you, Brad. I am too afraid to attend any meetings in this county.
Thank you for taking time out of your schedule to bring some common sense onto that committee. Hopefully you’ll help prevent our county from violating election laws.
I’d like to suggest we get rid of Lund. To try and change proven methods of voting and implement rules that would make it extremely difficult for my disabled wife to vote is so unpatriotic it’s not even funny. I’m glad that the new ROV (Tom) at least so far believes in following the laws.
I too am disabled and I totally agree with all you had to say. Thank You !
Makes absolutely no sense that the very people who are claiming, ” voter fraud” were elected by the system that’s been in place for years! If they can prove voting fraud, then we should remove them from office, and hold another election!
Oh wait, they probably don’t want that either, because citizens have witnessed their insane activities!
If I recall correctly, your wife can authorize you to return her ballot for her. Under the old system it was easy to send for an absentee ballot which could be filled out at home and either mailed in or hand delivered to the clerk’s office. It is the mass mailing of ballots that is in question.
Absentee ballots are not used any longer, if you are out of the state before mail-in ballots are sent, you can discuss it with the election department. And there’s not a question about ‘mass mailing’, which is not a term; it’s simply the law. Be thankful ballots are postage paid by the election dept., and our taxes.
There is no need for an “election commission” at all. They don’t serve any purpose.
Sure they do until dissolved by the new majority. Then Lund and the other do nothings can go back and being irrelevant.
They were given there day of fame. Useless
This fake commission was founded by Jones, and endorsed by his sock puppets, Mr. Pillow Jr. The Lying Crye, and Sleepyhead Kelstorm, for one reason, and one reason alone; to spread Big Lie MAGA propaganda about elections and to appease sniveling loser politician Jones and his local Big Lie Fan Club.
Tens of thousands of hard earned taxpayer dollars have been flushed down the toilet to let the toothless Jones Club and Chair Lund become famous (like Jones) and perhaps get on Newsmax for publicly demanding Shasta County persistently violate the law, even against the recommendation of our County Council and the J C.K. Cartel’s very own R O V.
There has been a request for the Shasta County Grand Jury to investigate if a county board can spend money to recommend violating the law, and a request for the CA. Secretary Of State to look into this as well. Think of the money being wasted that could be used to give our first responders a raise!
This commission is fooling some of the people some of the time but the interesting question is how long can this charade of false reality be sustained! How long can the commission try to bend reality until it becomes a violation of the law? And what will happen when the tRumpian house of cards falls?
November will be interesting.
Precisely!!
So in addition to voter suppression and defying a number election laws, Chair Lund would now also like to put a chill on Garbutt’s first amendment right to free speech? Although I am not surprised, I still find her statements totally outrageous. Also, she claimed that she didnt find anything illegal about the Commission’s recommendation to the Board. I would like to remind Chair Lund that she is not qualified to make such a finding.
Mr Garbutt is entitled to his opinion just as much as any of the commissioners. So long as he’s not speaking in the name of the commission. I don’t know Mr Garbutt but he was appointed by a sitting Supervisor and has the right to exercise his First Amendment right. For the Chair to try and remove him for dissenting from the majority would be undemocratic and more conducive to a Venezuelan commission. At the first of the year, I would ask Supervisors- elect Plummer and Long to work diligently with the remaining Board to dissolve this phony Jones sponsored grift.
I am not in favor of limiting mail in voting or restricting it to in person one day. People are working differently than they did even 10 years ago let alone 100 years ago. The mail in voting has allowed disabled and/or elderly to vote and the people working out of the city or county to vote. Being able to fill out a ballot and place it in a safe receptacle before the day of the election also allowed people working different work schedules, in another country, county or city to be apart of the election process. I don’t believe the commission had the right to refuse to have a c member on the commission that had a different view point. That is removing the rights of people to have dissenting points of view.