Shasta County is in a ‘bad place,’ and Mike Lindell may be to blame
AENN
Eric Ting, SFGATE
California’s Shasta County — now controlled by a conservative supermajority on the Board of Supervisors — is still gripped by 2020 presidential election conspiracy theories. Nearly two months after the board terminated its contract with Dominion Voting Systems, county leaders have yet to determine a replacement, setting the stage for a possibly contentious meeting next week.
By a 3-2 margin, the board voted to end its Dominion contract in January because of debunked claims of mass voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. The claims prompted Dominion to file a high-profile defamation lawsuit against Fox News and also prompted multiple incidents in Shasta County.
The board is scheduled to address the matter again during its March 28 meeting. County elections chief Cathy Darling Allen told SFGATE that identifying a replacement by then is “essential,” because of special elections for local offices in the county that could be scheduled for as early as August.
The holdup, Allen said, can be attributed to at least two supervisors — Patrick Jones and Kevin Crye — who are working to persuade their board colleagues to count ballots by hand and remove machines from the equation altogether. But that’s not feasible for several reasons. For one, California election law has only three voting systems it allows counties to use: Dominion, Hart, and Election Systems & Software (ES&S), all of which are electronic. For another, the costs of hand-counting ballots would be astronomical, Allen said.
“In a county of our size, the costs really make it prohibitive,” she said. “But I’m not sure if that’s being communicated in a way that gets received.”
Jones and Crye did not return an SFGATE request for comment. Crye made headlines at the end of February when, during a board meeting, he read an email from MyPillow CEO and 2020 election conspiracy theorist Mike Lindell pledging financial support if Shasta County gets sued by the state for having a noncertified voting system. Attorney General Rob Bonta has already sent a letter to the county warning that it must comply with state law.
Lindell’s influence on the process has been undeniable. He confirmed his involvement in a video blasting all voting machines because “they’re all made with parts made over in China,” and Crye said he traveled to Minnesota to meet with Lindell earlier this month.
Furthermore, Crye brought Lindell ally Linda Rantz, who has gained notoriety for pushing changes to Missouri election law, to a meeting with Allen to discuss hand-counting ballots. Allen told SFGATE she wishes to keep what is discussed in meetings with supervisors private.
Allen said she’s unsure what will transpire during the March 28 board meeting, as Jones and Crye have yet to announce plans for an agenda item they’re seeking on hand-counting ballots.
Beyond the usual messages from the community alleging widespread fraud, she said she’s also received messages of concern from residents who want the county to move forward.
“We’re entering into a time where we don’t have a way to conduct elections,” she said. “That’s not something I’m comfortable with, and people have picked up on that it’s a bad place to be.”
