Voting rights groups ask secretary of state to monitor upcoming elections
A nonpartisan coalition of voting rights advocates has asked the California Secretary of State's Office to monitor upcoming elections in Shasta County because of concerns about safety and the spread of misinformation.
In a letter sent to Secretary of State Shirley Weber, members of six voting rights groups called for an “urgent, decisive and sustained response from your office.”
Representatives from ACLU Northern California, the League of Women Voters, Disability Rights California, Verified Voting, California Common Cause and the California Voter Foundation cite three reasons that Shasta County needs the state to provide extra election monitors in the November and March elections.
Earlier this year, Shasta's Board of Supervisors ended the county's contract with Dominion Voting Systems after baseless claims of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. The supervisors cited unfounded assertions that Dominion machines were hacked in the 2020 election and led to the defeat of former President Donald Trump.
In their letter, the voting rights groups say that board Chair Brian Jones, one of the three far-right members, has indicated that the county will not adhere to new legislation that bars the hand counting of ballots. Newsom signed Assembly Bill 969, authored by Santa Cruz Democrat and former County Clerk Gail Pellerin, on Oct. 4.
“Supervisor Jones has been reported as having said “that the supervisors were still committed to implementing a hand count regardless of what the law says,” that “the county won't follow that law (AB 969) and will instead file legal action as needed to continue forward with a hand count,” and that he believes AB 969 “does not affect Shasta County.”
The groups also say there is “a high risk of voter confusion, distrust and disenfranchisement due to the spread of misinformation and disinformation by Supervisor Jones and others who are aligned with his views and approach.” They include fellow Supervisor Kevin Crye, the subject of a local recall movement, whose recall election will occur next March.
“As can be seen at nearly every board of supervisors meeting, it truly threatens the electorate's ability to discern the truth about how their upcoming elections will be administered and their confidence that their votes will be counted accurately and in accordance with the law,” the groups wrote.
Finally, the voting rights advocate said, the county elections office and the county clerk, Cathy Darling Allen (a chair on the California Voter Foundation board) simply don't have the resources to manage both the implementation of a new voting system (which they must undertake since the board ended its contract with Dominion), the monitoring of two elections and potentially dealing with potentially disruptive or violent observers.
Allen said her office is coordinating with local law enforcement and the FBI. They have not received any specific threats.
“We're just trying to be proactive,” she said.
Allen was not involved with the Oct. 24 letter but said she welcomes any support from the Secretary of State's Office.
“In my office, my staff and I are working hard … we're committing to making sure (voters') voices are heard, and that their votes are counted accurately and quickly.”
The Nov. 7 election will be a small one: a fire district formation election (the county hasn't had one of these in about 50 years), and a contest to fill a school board seat vacancy in the Gateway Unified School District.
It will be the first election since the county terminated its contract with Dominion.