A Shasta County supervisor is concerned that controversies tied to the county elections office could be hurting public trust just ahead of the November midterms.
Matt Plummer, District 4 supervisor, points to the latest dispute involving Registrar of Voters Clint Curtis.
Shasta County issued a statement Wednesday accusing Curtis of failing to destroy ballots from the November 2024 election as required by state law.
Plummer believes the dispute is a distraction from running the upcoming Nov. 3 election.
“I get emails every week from people saying they're concerned about the November election, and have less confidence in it than they ever have,” Plummer said.
Ballots from the Nov. 5, 2024, general election should have been destroyed on Sept. 5, 2026, “or as soon as reasonably practicable” afterward, according to the county’s statement. Scheduled shredding attempts on Sept. 11 and Wednesday were unsuccessful, the statement said.
“Mr. Curtis’ refusal to fulfill his statutory responsibilities as an appointed official in an elected position is solely his decision and is not supported or condoned by the County of Shasta,” the statement said.
Curtis disputes the county’s account.
He told NSPR in an email the ballots weren’t destroyed on Wednesday because they were mixed in with documents tied to a pending Public Records Act request.
Plummer said he believes another attempt to destroy the ballots has been scheduled.
