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What Went Wrong? Shasta County’s Election Night Counting Delays Explained
Journalists reported overflowing ballot boxes, staffing shortages and computer failures as the county lagged behind California’s other 57 counties in counting ballots.
- On Tuesday, Shasta County experienced significant election count delays and computer system failures, remaining the only California county that had not finished counting in-person ballots by Wednesday morning.
- The Shasta County Board appointed Clint Curtis in 2025 despite his election-denial history, and Curtis subsequently reduced ballot drop boxes from 13 to four last year.
- Reporters observed staffing shortages and logistical errors, including Curtis leaving the election office to retrieve ballots when he should have overseen the count. Curtis told the Shasta Scout, "Because I'm stupid."
- Curtis lost his June primary bid to Joanna Francescut, a former Shasta County elections official whom Curtis had previously fired. Francescut takes office in January.
- While Shasta County faced scrutiny as a potential focal point for federal interference claims, it remains an outlier in California with no major issues reported in other state counties. The U.S. Department of Justice has not acknowledged an investigation.
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11 Articles
Palo Alto Online+7 Reposted by 7 other sources
California has one ballot-counting trouble spot. It’s the one run by an election denier
This story was originally published by CalMatters. Sign up for their newsletters. In the end, it wasn’t shady bogeymen stuffing ballot boxes or federal agents who caused disruptions on election night in the rural Northern California Republican stronghold of Shasta County. It was the seeming incompetence of Clint Curtis, the county’s election-denying elections chief who’s […]
‘Who cares? It’s my last election anyway’: Shasta ROV responds to election mistakes
Missing poll workers, overflowing drop boxes and delayed tabulation were just a few of the issues during Shasta’s Nov. 3, 2026 election. It’s the third to be run by appointed official Clint Curtis, who promised quick results, full transparency and a reunification of the people.
Coverage Details
Total News Sources11
Leaning Left8Leaning Right0Center2Last UpdatedBias Distribution80% Left
Bias Distribution
- 80% of the sources lean Left
80% Left
L 80%
C 20%
Factuality
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