Redding, California

Turmoil in Shasta County, California's elections office has intensified after registrar Clint Curtis sealed a room containing primary ballots with locks and duct tape, claiming without evidence they seemed suspicious. County leaders publicly condemned Curtis and asked the FBI, California's attorney general and secretary of state to investigate his conduct, while Curtis separately said he too had asked the FBI to look into the matter. The county's Board of Supervisors previously censured Curtis over treatment of staff, and internal investigations found he threatened employees and misused work time on his own campaign.

Curtis, a longtime election denier with no prior election administration experience, drew national attention for seeking to hire Tina Peters, a convicted former Colorado clerk tied to a 2021 voting-machine breach, as a consultant. California lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom's office are reviewing whether such a hire would violate state law. The dispute echoes a separate case in Riverside County, where a sheriff's seizure of ballots is being challenged before the California Supreme Court, raising broader questions about election security and oversight ahead of the midterms.