Bob Karp: Welcome Shasta County to the Recall

The Los Angeles Times reports turmoil in the northern California county of Shasta as the newly elected Board of Supervisors majority decides to dump Dominion voting machines in favor of a hand count of election ballots for this county with 110,000 registered voters.  (Read background on this story in our News post. )

The result has been acrimonious board meetings, rulings and decisions over the objections of county staff, and a potential additional cost of $3 million to hand count ballots in the next two elections starting November 2023.

Here's where Shasta is beginning to look even more like Cochise County.  Again from the Los Angeles Times:  "In a Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday spiced with angry personal attacks — and during which Supervisor Kevin Crye was served with recall papers on the dais mid-session..." and it doesn't stop there "Some voters are now talking of mounting recall efforts targeting two other board members in the Gateway district. There is talk of another recall in the Anderson school district. And the potential recall of Crye, who was served papers at Tuesday’s board meeting."

The [Crye] recall petition alleges that in just four months in office, Crye had “brought nationwide ridicule and embarrassment to our county through his actions and voting.”  This language is very similar to the Tom Crosby recall petition.

With the hiring of an election denier for Cochise County's new Elections Director, we could be heading down the same path.  For conservative voters who have always complained about wasted government spending, I expect you to protest vigorously as our Board of Supervisors spends money because of a lie.

At least one voter doesn't see it this way.  In a reply to a tweet of mine and the Recall Tom Crosby committee he says "I bet you’re willing to pay a tax for the jail. Hand counts, paper and same day voting are worth it."  So he won't chip in for a new county jail, but is willing to pay for paper ballots and a hand count.  By the way all the vote by mail ballots are paper and over 80% of voters in Cochise County vote by mail.