Election denier Tina Peters to be hired as elections consultant in conservative California county

Key Points:

• Shasta County, California, known for election denial activism, plans to hire Tina Peters, a convicted Colorado election denier recently released from prison, as a consultant on elections, though she will not have access to voting systems.
• County clerk Clint Curtis, a controversial figure who opposes voting machines and was recently censured for personnel violations, intends to replace his top deputy with Peters despite her felony convictions related to election equipment breaches.
• Shasta County has a history of election denial efforts, including attempts to abandon Dominion Voting Systems in favor of hand counts, supported by figures like MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, but these efforts have been blocked by the state.
• Critics, including Colorado officials and California Senator Alex Padilla, warn that hiring Peters undermines election security and public trust, emphasizing the need for nonpartisan, lawful election administration.
• Peters continues to promote false claims about 2020 election fraud and has urged extreme measures ahead of 2026 midterms; meanwhile, Curtis was recently voted out of office and replaced by a longtime elections employee.