The Shasta County Registrar of Voters, Clint Curtis, wants to move the elections office to the building that used to be Joann Fabrics. To do this, he's asking for an additional $2.6 million to his office's budget, and wants to fund the move from money the county has set aside for improving its jail.
"Having this news facility would allow him to implement some of the changes he wants to do to the elections process, which include what he refers to broadly as 'filming everything,'" said Annelise Pierce, managing editor for the nonprofit news outlet Shasta Scout who has been reporting on the issue. "He wants to essentially place all parts of the ballot processing procedures on live stream for the public to view."
Curtis, who was appointed registrar of voters by the Shasta County Board of Supervisors earlier this year, is a public defense lawyer from Florida. He's been critical of election policies in the state, and says he wants to improve transparency and public trust in the voting system.
"Mr. Curtis is part of what I estimate to be a very small group of local Shasta County folks who believe that there are problems with local elections … This has never been proven," Pierce said. "Lawsuits filed over these alleged inconsistencies and illegalities have been thrown out so far."
Public scrutiny of the elections process became a topic of contention in the county following unfounded claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election.
Curtis' request for additional funding is also controversial, since he proposes taking it from money the county had set aside for improvements to its prison.
"[Some members of the public] are very concerned with public safety and jail capacity," Pierce said. "So the fact that he wants to take several million dollars from that fund to make changes that many people feel aren't necessary to the election process, is definitely heightening the debate."
Supervisors are reviewing Curtis' proposal at its meeting today.
