Shasta panel asking county supervisors to defy California law that limits hand counting
Even though hand counting election ballots was outlawed in California less than six months ago, the Shasta County Elections Commission on Monday voted to recommend the county Board of Supervisors pass a local ordinance mandating votes be tallied by hand.
The recommendation was approved by commissioners Ronnean Lund, Lisa Michaud and Bev Gray. Commissioners Susanne Baremore and Dawn Duckett voted against the measure.
The three who voted for the measure have expressed skepticism that using machines to count ballots during elections is reliable and secure against hacking.
"No one can observe the actual tally of ballots by a machine. No one, by watching a machine with their eyes, can know whether votes are being tabulated correctly or incorrectly at any moment," according to a report written by Gray that she said was a basis for the local ordinance.
But members of the public who spoke at the meeting told the commission its proposal was against the law. The State Legislature passed a bill, known as AB969, in 2023 and it was signed by the governor on Oct. 4. The law prohibits hand-counting ballots in elections with more than 1,000 registered voters.
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Acting County Counsel Alan Cox told the commissioners Monday he would weigh in on the legality of hand counting when the issue came before the Board of Supervisors.
"If you want to start a full-on fight with the state of California, then this is a way to do it. Since California passed AB969 when the Board of Supervisors first tried to enact hand counting, it is almost a certainty that California will step in again if the Board of Supervisors willfully goes against state law," Timothy Goebel told the commission.
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Joanna Francescut, assistant registrar of voters, said Tuesday that none of the commissioners consulted with her about their recommendation to the supervisors. Nor did the commission work with her in developing its reasons to hand count ballots.
The elections department has advocated to continue to use machines to count ballots because they are more cost effective and more reliable and accurate than hand counting.
In January 2023 the supervisors voted to cancel a contract with Dominion Voting Systems, which included a machine-tallying process.
Shasta County became, at the time, the only county in the state to attempt to count votes by hand. Machines have been used to count ballots for decades in California.
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After Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB969 in October, Supervisor Patrick Jones said the county would continue to move forward with hand counting ballots.
“I've asked legal counsel to weigh in on this. And I believe that it does not affect Shasta County,” Jones said. “We already made that decision to get away from machines in January and February. We have been waiting this entire time for the Secretary of State, which said she would approve a hand tabulation plan. She has yet to do so. So she's simply dragging her feet on this. But we have already made our decision. And a majority of the board has already spoken.”
While Jones had previously said the county would file suit against the state to allow a hand count of votes in Shasta County, he said in October that may not be necessary.
“As far as I'm concerned, we push forward. The state may want to sue us,” Jones said.
While the county terminated its contract with Dominion, it approved a contract with a new company that would enable hand and machine counting. During the November 2023 election, votes were tallied by machine. Ballots for on March 5 primary also will be counted by machine.
The written basis for the ordinance that commissioners prepared Monday says, "county laws and ordinances supersede any state laws in regard to voting systems."
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Christian Gardiner told the panel they were Jones' puppets, and they were perpetuating a falsehood that elections were not safe and reliable.
"I would encourage the commission to go ahead and disband. The charade has gone on for months. The commission is but a ventriloquist act for statewide baloney. You have spent tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars propagating a lie, a big lie," Gardiner said.
Reporter Damon Arthur welcomes story tips at 530-338-8834, by email at damon.arthur@redding.com and on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @damonarthur_RS. Help local journalism thrive by subscribing today!
This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Shasta elections panel asks county supervisors to defy California law
