With a special election less than a week away it’s still unclear how Shasta County will count its votes.
The months-long debate about whether votes will be tallied by hand or electronically continued at the Shasta County Board of Supervisors meeting this week (Oct. 31).
Board Chair Patrick Jones raised questions about Hart InterCivic, the company providing the county’s new voting machines, after the board terminated the county’s contract with Dominion Voting Systems to pursue a hand-count following unfounded claims of voter fraud in the 2020 elections.
Even so, electronic voting machines were still required to accommodate voters with disabilities, and the software used with the machines was required to create the ballots themselves.
Now Supervisor Jones claims County Registrar of Voters Cathy Darling Allen misled the board about the new machines’ ability to count ballots.
“At no time did you ever say to this board that what we were purchasing would be capable of electronic tabulation,” Jones said.
A staff report was given to the board last April that makes clear the machines have the ability to count ballots, though they don’t have to be used for that purpose.
Darling Allen pushed back during this week’s meeting and insisted that her office will uphold all election laws.
"My course of action will be to continue to follow the laws in the state of California and protect the democratic process for the voters of Shasta County,” Darling Allen said. “I will uphold the democratic tradition that has been enshrined in this country, this state and this county for decades.”
A recent California law targeted at Shasta County, prohibits hand-counting elections in districts with more than 1,000 registered voters for regular elections, and more than 5,000 registered voters for special elections. But Supervisor Jones has made comments indicating he intends to pursue hand-counting regardless of the new legislation.
At the meeting, two other supervisors voiced support for Darling Allen and her office, including Supervisor Mary Rickert.
“I have full confidence that Cathy Darling Allen is making the right decision,” Rickert said. “It's her decision. And that's why she was elected by the people.”
California’s Secretary of State, Shirley Weber, has issued a warning to Shasta County’s leadership that they must comply with state voting laws or face legal repercussions.
This comes in response to a letter sent to Weber by a group of voting rights advocates requesting that California monitor elections in Shasta County due to concerns that voters are being subjected to a “torrent of misinformation and disinformation."
The discussion at this week’s board meeting resulted in no vote or action.
Shasta County’s special election is on Nov. 7.
