With special election dust still swirling, supervisors will discuss ballot initiative to “reform” Shasta’s election process
The citizen-led initiative to amend Shasta’s charter is slated to be placed on the June 2026 ballot now that signatures have been verified. The initiative calls for Shasta to hold elections in a way that contradicts state law and is likely to prompt immediate legal challenges.
County supervisors will face a thorny challenge tomorrow as they discuss placing a citizen-led initiative on the ballot for the June 2026 election. Since the county’s election official has found a sufficient number of valid signatures in support of the measure, California law requires that the board provide a stamp of approval in order for the initiative to be added to an upcoming ballot.
But if the board does so, and voters approve the ballot initiative next year, that will likely propel the county into a new legal battle with the state. The initiative calls for the county to amend its newly-approved charter to conduct elections in ways that would contradict state election code. The proposed changes include hand counting votes, conducting single-day elections and requiring voter IDs. In Huntington Beach a similar local law was just struck down by the courts.
The petition indicates that it would provide local transparency and security reform. It was initiated earlier this year by activists Laura Hobbs, Richard Gallardo and others in a community group known as the Shasta Election Task Force, multiple of whom were recently hired as extra help by Shasta’s Registrar of Voters Clint Curtis.
The initial submission of the initiative in March prompted immediate legal pushback from the county, asking the court to block the measure so that the county would not have to expend resources on moving it through the system. That attempt failed because the judge said the county’s legal filing did not meet the high bar the law requires to grant the kind of expedited motion requested.
In mid-September, proponents for the ballot measure submitted more than 10,000 signatures in support of the petition. The minimum number required to move the initiative forward was 6,852. Using a formula provided by the Secretary of State, the staff report says, it was determined that the number of valid signatures was 127% of those required.
The formula included randomly sampling 500 signatures to determine how many were valid. That process found 430 valid signatures allowing the measure to move forward. While the county’s paperwork documenting the process includes a reference to the wrong election code, a review of the relevant California law indicates that random sampling of signatures is sufficient.
To add to the complexity of the ballot initiative, the signatures indicating that voters wished to amend the county’s charter were gathered before Shasta officially became a charter county. The state officially approved Shasta’s charter status in early Sept. Just a few days later, proponents, who had been gathering signatures for months, submitted them to the election office for review.
Do you have information or a correction to share? Email us: editor@shastascout.org.
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It is my strong hope that this initiate to change voting practices is rejected or defeated. I am happy to vote in every election receiving my ballot in the mail and delivering it to a drop box.
As a 78 YO person who has health problems that would make standing in a long line to cast my ballot a difficult and painful procedure, I doubt that I’d vote in off year elections and would resent what is, in my opinion, noting more than unfounded conspiracy theories about election fraud.
Good luck with your venture.
An encouraging report; thanks. When I was once on a jury in Shasta county, it was emphasized that we must judge according to if we believe the law affecting the case was lawful or unlawful. That was my take-away. Laws are lawful, if righteous. The purpose of being a republic is to assure personal responsibility and freedom. Liberty is freedom with responsibility. Many California laws are unrighteous and unlawful. When a person does not take responsibility, the legislature will make a law, taking away personal responsibility and putting more of your freedoms into state hands, thus socialism/unlawful. Up until Wilson and FDR, freedom was the American dream. And since? The American dream has been materialism; freedom lost thereby. Shasta county has decided some newsom laws are actually unright and unlawful. The next governor election will tell a lot about our citizen’s desire for righteous, lawful law.
“Many California laws are unrighteous and unlawful.”
Oh hi. It’s you again.
Please explain to me as a Christian, why the laws are unrighteous and unlawful.
Because I call thee out, and I don’t believe that Christ is smiling down upon thee.
Do you unto others as you would have them do unto you.
But that apparently does not seem to be what you were calling for. You were calling for judgment and punishment to be dealt to those people on the earth here in Shasta county.
Why don’t Shasta people understand that they never have been able to, and never will be able to support themselves? The liberals they hate literally feed them and provide them with health care and all of the social services they rely upon. I totally get it, they love their bible and they want the separation of church and state to end. However, this thinking will bring about their extinction. The sick ways of the Catholics and the evangelical Christians are un sustainable as most people have figured out that it’s all lies and hate. You are not supporting yourselves, you cannot provide essential services to your community without clinging to the coattails of your liberal patrons who actually DO support themselves because their brain isn’t broken about an old book famously full of lies.
It is sad state of election affairs to have just a few election deniers try to change well established election laws to abduct the voting process.
Hey all, is it true that the votes in Shasta county still have not been reported to the Secretary of State?
Is it true that we are the last county in the state to report our election results?
Doesn’t that mean that Mr Curtis’s plan has failed dramatically?
Waiting to hear all the excuses that people are going to give for him.
But if you’re really on the side of truth you have to admit one way or not that this is the worst election we’ve had ever