California Archives | American Democracy Minute

Shasta County Almost Hand-Counted Its Ballots in November. Instead, it Lost an Expensive Game of Election Denial Chicken with the State of California

December 4, 2023December 4, 2023

Just days before the Nov. 2023 election, the chair of the Shasta County, CA Board of Supervisors was threatening to defy a new California law, and hand count ballots instead of using an electronic ballot tabulator. The county supervisors blinked.

Why was California’s Citizens Redistricting Commission Successful, While New York’s Commission Resulted in Gerrymandering & Court Cases?

November 20, 2023November 20, 2023

While New York’s bipartisan redistricting commission struggled, the successful California Citizen Redistricting Commission maps were passed unanimously in 2021 with no litigation. New York’s commission deadlocked, and was overruled by a Democratic-dominated legislature which drew its own gerrymandered maps. Those were later thrown out by the court, and the Congressional map is STILL being contested.

Election Denier Updates: AZ Gubernatorial Candidate Kari Lake Loses Election Challenge; Shasta County CA Commissioner Recall Moves Forward

May 24, 2023May 24, 2023

We have updates on stories we’ve been following, including Arizona candidate Kari Lake’s election challenge, and Shasta County, California’s decision to hand count ballots.

Shasta County, CA Votes to Hand Count Ballots for its 111,000 Voters. Now They Have to Pay for It.

April 12, 2023April 12, 2023

Showing they’d bought into President Trump’s debunked fraud allegations, the majority of Shasta County California’s board of supervisors terminated their contract for Dominion Voting Systems’ electronic ballot tabulation machines. Then supervisors voted to hand count ballots – in a county with over 111,000 registered voters.

Cities & Counties Also Get Gerrymandered; California Citizens are Fighting Back

February 20, 2023February 20, 2023

When we think redistricting, we generally think about our state’s Congressional, house and senate districts. But city and county districts are also reapportioned through redistricting – and also increasingly gerrymandered. Citizens in California are fighting back.