Shasta County Board of Supervisors vote to stop elections commission from meeting amid lawsuit

AENN

REDDING, Calif. - Meetings for the Shasta County Elections Commission are on hold until a lawsuit against the Registrar of Voters is resolved.

In a 4-1 vote on Tuesday, with board chair Kevin Crye dissenting, the Shasta County Board of Supervisors voted to put a pause on elections commission meetings until further notice.

The decision came after a 90-minute closed session with supervisors and Shasta County Legal Counsel Joseph Larmour.

Dan Ladd, one of the two plaintiffs in the lawsuit against Toller, told supervisors on Tuesday: "This is not about the [Registrar of Vorers] anymore, this is about the Shasta County Board of Supervisors is stifling our vote, and is allowing corruption across the street."

The decision to suspend meetings didn't sit well with audience members, including both Ladd and the other plaintiff in the lawsuit, Laura Hobbs.

Hobbs told the room, "I understand you guys are afraid of the state. But we can't keep our country a free country if you aren't willing to fight for free or accurately counted elections."

Kelstrom, one of the supervisors who voted to pause elections meetings for now, told the audience "We're put in a situation right now where, you know, can we go forward at this given moment? So, I want to see this [commission] move forward."

Ladd and Hobbs say the suit's goal is not to overturn 2024 election results, but rather to ensure that Toller "performs his job according to state laws."

We reached out to Toller and his office last week about the lawsuit, but he declined to comment, pending active litigation. 

"If you guys aren't going to hear it, then that's witness tampering" Ladd emphatically told supervisors. "It's purely based on my lawsuit, it has nothing to do with the county, it has to do with the Registrar of Voters. You guys know it's corrupt, you're backing it up, you're not letting us have a commission that can bring this to you so we can take action."

Ladd and Hobbs also added that they're seeking access to audit logs and other documents related to Shasta County's 2024 election results.