Board of Supervisors Moves Forward With Pursuit of Fully Manual Ballot Counting
Four weeks after directing County staff to evaluate options for hand counting ballots, the Board of Supervisors decided in a 3-2 vote to move away from machine ballot counting and directed Elections Department staff to develop a plan for hand counting Shasta County’s elections. Since California elections requirements are unique and complex, and a manual tally system is not currently in use anywhere in the State, this will require the careful development of an entirely new process, policy, and system.
What’s next?
- A new voting process will need to be submitted for approval to the California Secretary of State’s Office.
- Shasta County will part ways with Dominion Voting Machines, but will contract with either Hart InterCivic or Election Systems & Software for voting equipment necessary to comply with law and accommodate voters with disabilities.
- County staff will return to the Board of Supervisors to request additional staff positions to carry out a hand counting process. The Shasta County Clerk and Registrar of Voters estimates approximately 1,300 workers will be needed for an efficient, lawful, and accurate count. The additional seasonal staffing will cost approximately $1.6M.
- County budget requests will reflect additional funding to cover increased costs associated with personnel, IT, and administration.
- County staff will begin looking for a facility that can accommodate the space needs of a hand count process, including manual tally teams, observers, sufficient storage, and security.
For a detailed look at this process, an Analysis of Manual Tally Options has been prepared by Shasta County Clerk/Registrar of Voters, Cathy Darling Allen. See files attached below.
