Update June 12, 2026 4:45 p.m.: This story has been updated to reflect responses from Shasta County and from a former litigant against Measure B.
“There can be no serious dispute that Measure B—a voter initiative to establish a county-specific elections system in Shasta County—is unlawful.â€Â
That statement is the opening line of a lawsuit that was filed today in California's Third District Court of Appeal by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Secretary of State Shirley Weber against Shasta County.
Measure B is a ballot initiative that was just approved by a majority — 56% — of the county's voters in the June primary. It seeks to reform local election procedure by mandating voter ID, eliminating most mail-in voting and imposing a one-day election process. If implemented, it would also disconnect county voter rolls from the oversight of the state and require a full hand count of ballots rather than relying on machines, among other changes. The measure appears to be illegal to implement in the state of California.
Earlier this week, as votes were being tallied, the AG's office told Shasta Scout it stood at the ready “to take appropriate action to protect voters' rights and enforce state election laws.â€Â Election results are still unofficial, but the vast majority of ballots have been counted, the local elections office said.
The lawsuit names Registrar of Voters Clint Curtis as a respondent and the five central election activists behind the measure as the real parties of interest. They include Laura Hobbs, Deidre Holliday, Kari Chilson, Jim Burnett and Richard Gallardo. Hobbs is employed by Curtis as an analyst at the elections office and helped preside over the election that determined the outcome of the measure she was pivotal in creating.
“That's the way it works,†Curtis told a reporter today at the elections office, remarking on the lawsuit shortly after the news broke. “The courts are doing what they do,†he added, acknowledging that the proposed federal SAVE Act could present further complications to the impending court proceedings.Â
Shasta County declined to offer a comment this afternoon. The board of supervisors will be discussing the litigation during closed session during its meeting on Tuesday, June 16.
Measure B proponents have claimed that the county's status as a charter allows for local election control. The state's lawsuit contradicts that, saying despite Shasta County's charter status, such changes to local elections would exceed county authority “because charter counties are not granted any degree of home rule over voter registrations or elections.â€
Even if elections were in the bounds of Shasta's rights as a charter county, the lawsuit said, Shasta cannot enforce laws “that are inconsistent with or impede statewide regulation of the integrity of the political or electoral process.â€
The state's action is only the latest in a number of legal challenges to the measure, all of which have either been pushed back by a Shasta County Superior Court judge, or withdrawn.Â
Last year, Shasta County's attorney Joseph Larmour attempted to halt the measure in its tracks, but a judge determined that Shasta's case against Measure B did not meet the criteria to prevent it from moving forward. Later, community member Jennifer Katske filed two lawsuits against the measure. She was unsuccessful in the first and voluntarily withdrew the other. She reacted to the state's announcement by continuing to emphasize her concerns about the measure.
“I warned that Measure B would lead to costly litigation and divert public resources away from the real needs of our community,†Katske told Shasta Scout after hearing the news. “Unfortunately, those concerns are now becoming reality.â€
Earlier this week, Measure B proponent Burnett said he and others expected a lawsuit, but are prepared to follow through in hopes of succeeding against the state or other challengers. Shasta Scout was not immediately able to reach ballot proponents for comment today.
This is a developing story.
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