This red California county roiled by a far-right-insurgency braces for more trouble as election nears

After an ultra-conservative majority took over in 2022, the board voted to dump Dominion voting machines in favor of hand-counting ballots. The supervisors passed a measure to allow concealed weapons in local government buildings in defiance of state law. And they explored hiring a California secessionist leader as the county’s chief executive. Rickert, whose personal style tends toward feathered blonde hair and flowy scarves, argued against much of what they did.

On Tuesday, voters in her district, which stretches from Redding into the waterfalls and mountain peaks to the east, will decide whether to give her a another term. Her challenger is a local business owner, Corkey Harmon, who said on his website that he is running to “to protect our god given rights and our rural way of life.”

Some county residents say the contest is also about the future political direction of the county.

In recent years, Shasta County has attracted national attention for its embrace of voting conspiracy theories along with 2nd Amendment and anti-vaccine causes. Board meetings have been disrupted by shouting matches and senior staff have been fired or quit. Election workers, meanwhile, say they have faced intimidation. An unknown person installed a game-hunting camera in the alley behind the elections office in 2022.


https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2024-11-02/shasta-county-faces-another-pivotal-election-and-more-uncertainty-over-voting