Overview
- In mid-August 2026 Shasta County Clerk Clint Curtis announced plans to bring Tina Peters into the county elections office as a consultant or assistant despite his recent electoral defeat and formal censure by the county board.
- Peters was convicted in August 2024 on seven counts tied to a Mesa County breach in which she allowed an outside associate to copy voting-system software; she served part of a nine-year sentence and was released on parole after a commutation in June 2026.
- Curtis says Peters would not have access to the county’s voting systems but he has not specified her duties and has suggested hiring her as a consultant to work both remotely and in person.
- U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff have asked California Secretary of State Shirley Weber to block any access Peters might have to ballots, voting machines, or sensitive voter data and warned of legal and financial risks to county taxpayers.
- The move deepens scrutiny of Shasta County’s turn toward election-denial policies — including voter-approved Measure B and earlier staff investigations — and leaves open legal questions about parole conditions, state oversight and what limits can be enforced.