About Clint Curtis

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Part 1: The Dangerous Arrival of Clint Curtis in Shasta County 

When Shasta County chose Clint Curtis to oversee its elections, it didn’t appoint a watchdog — it handed the henhouse to a fox. Curtis, a Florida attorney with a long trail of political failure and conspiracy obsession, has spent more than two decades weaving stories of hidden code, hacked machines, and phantom fraud (Anguiano, 2025). His latest act, however, isn’t taking place on a fringe podcast or at a rally in Florida — it’s unfolding right here, in Northern California’s most politically volatile county.

Curtis has no history of running elections, no proven record of integrity in public administration, and no verifiable expertise in electoral systems. What he does have is a knack for self-promotion and a deep entanglement with America’s far-right election denial movement — a movement that has already torn at the social fabric of Shasta County (Arthur, 2025; Huseman, 2024).

Since the early 2000s, Curtis has marketed himself as a whistleblower who claims to have once written software capable of flipping votes. It’s a story that gained viral attention online but fell apart under scrutiny from investigators and journalists. Despite repeated failures to provide proof, Curtis leveraged the tale to transform himself from an obscure programmer into a celebrity in the conspiracy circuit (Billman, 2006; Morgan, 2005).

Today, Curtis’ allies include the loudest voices in election disinformation — MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, political propagandist Steve Bannon, and self-styled “data expert” Douglas Frank — figures whose rhetoric has helped erode public faith in the democratic process (Olmstead, 2023; Rantz, 2025). Together, they form an echo chamber of denial and grievance, and Curtis has aligned himself proudly with that cause.

The troubling reality is this: Shasta County now employs a man whose career has thrived not on truth or transparency, but on the ability to weaponize mistrust. His appointment is not just an administrative blunder — it’s an existential threat to fair and free elections in our county.

Part 2: The Origin Story — From Self-Styled Whistleblower to Fringe Celebrity

Before Clint Curtis ever set foot in Shasta County, he was already well-known in the murkier corners of right-wing political folklore. His story begins in Florida in the early 2000s, where Curtis claimed to have written a computer program designed to “rig” voting machines for then-Congressman Tom Feeney — an explosive allegation that should have rocked the nation. The problem? Curtis never produced a shred of verifiable proof (Billman, 2006; Morgan, 2005).

Investigations found no evidence of the alleged plot. Reporters who chased the story quickly learned that Curtis’s tale shifted every time he retold it — the kind of inconsistency that demolishes credibility, not builds it (Billman, 2006). But in the age of viral outrage, facts mattered less than spectacle. Curtis discovered that being a political martyr — or at least claiming to be one — could turn into a profitable brand.

He parlayed that notoriety into multiple failed campaigns for Congress, each one more desperate than the last. Between 2006 and 2020, Curtis repeatedly ran on a platform of “election reform,” which largely meant rehashing his own conspiracy theories. Voters rejected him every time (Associated Press, 2020). But online, among the growing ecosystem of election deniers, he became a hero.

By the time Donald Trump lost the 2020 election, Curtis had fully reinvented himself. He was no longer just a forgotten candidate — he was reborn as a “whistleblower,” a supposed expert in “vote manipulation,” and a recurring guest in the orbit of MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell’s “Cyber Symposium” and other disinformation spectacles (Olmstead, 2023; Rantz, 2025).

This transformation from obscure programmer to conspiracy influencer set the stage for his next act — one that would reach all the way to Northern California. When Shasta County’s leadership decided to gut its contract with Dominion Voting Systems in 2023, a national spotlight turned toward the region. To Curtis, it was an opening — a place where distrust had already taken root and where his narrative could flourish unchecked.

Curtis didn’t arrive to protect democracy. He arrived to validate the paranoia of those who believe democracy itself is a fraud. And now, with a government position that puts him directly in control of the voting process, Shasta County has handed him the ultimate platform for his long-running performance.

Part 3: From Florida Fallout to Shasta County’s Political Circus

When Clint Curtis departed Florida, he didn’t leave behind his obsession with unfounded election conspiracies—he simply changed the stage. Curtis, once known for his baseless allegations of vote manipulation in Florida, has resurfaced in Shasta County, California, peddling the same recycled myths that have long been debunked by courts and experts (Murray & Simon, 2022). In a community already fractured by distrust and far-right rhetoric, his arrival has only intensified the political chaos.

Shasta County has become fertile ground for election denialism, largely fueled by the Red, White, and Blueprint movement—a local project that has branded public institutions as corrupt and framed government employees as enemies of the people (Abramsky, 2023). The county’s controversial decision to sever ties with Dominion Voting Systems was less about improving elections and more about indulging conspiracy theories that originated with national figures like Mike Lindell and Douglas Frank (Abramsky, 2023). This reckless act invited fringe operatives such as Curtis to step in and fill the void with misinformation disguised as reform.

Curtis’s influence quickly spread among Shasta’s right-wing activists, who hailed him as a “truth-teller” and eagerly hosted his appearances (Shasta Scout, 2024). His old claims about “vote flipping” and “hacked machines,” which had long been dismissed in Florida, were suddenly being repackaged as legitimate “concerns” for local audiences. Backed by the same network of disinformation merchants—including Lindell and Frank—Curtis has transformed Shasta County into a testing ground for his false narratives (Olmstead, 2023).

What makes this especially troubling is the validation Curtis receives from sympathetic elected officials. Some Shasta County supervisors have echoed his talking points and elevated him to the status of a credible expert (Kallepalli, 2024). Instead of defending the county’s democratic institutions, they’ve given oxygen to a movement bent on dismantling them from within.

The consequences are unmistakable. Public confidence in elections is eroding, citizens are turning on their own officials, and the county’s national reputation has become synonymous with chaos and extremism. Curtis didn’t bring reform to Shasta County—he imported Florida’s political dysfunction and dressed it up as “patriotism.” Unless voters reject this deception in 2026, Shasta risks becoming a cautionary tale about what happens when democracy is surrendered to conspiracy.

Part 4: The Threat to Democracy — Curtis and the Erosion of Election Integrity

Clint Curtis’s arrival in Shasta County has not been a neutral addition to local politics; it represents a direct threat to the integrity of elections and public trust in democratic institutions. Curtis, who has no professional experience managing elections, has repeatedly promoted unfounded claims that voting machines are rigged, and that elections are “stolen” (Anguiano, 2025). These claims are entirely unsubstantiated, yet they have been amplified by his appearances at local events and backed by national figures in the election denial movement (Olmstead, 2023).

The Shasta County Board of Supervisors’ decision to appoint Curtis as Registrar of Voters, despite his lack of qualifications, highlights a dangerous trend: political loyalty and conspiracy alignment now outweigh expertise and experience in key election oversight roles (Arthur, 2025). Qualified candidates with decades of hands-on election management experience were bypassed in favor of Curtis, raising legitimate concerns about the county’s commitment to free and fair elections (Harting, 2025).

Curtis’s promotion of hand-counting ballots as a “solution” to alleged fraud contradicts established research showing that machine counting is both more accurate and cost-effective than manual tallying (Olmstead, 2023). By advocating for policies unsupported by evidence, Curtis endangers not only administrative efficiency but also voter confidence. When voters perceive the electoral process as manipulated or unreliable, civic engagement declines and the legitimacy of elected officials is undermined (Huseman, 2024).

Moreover, Curtis’s alignment with controversial figures such as Mike Lindell and Steve Bannon embeds Shasta County in a broader network of national election misinformation (Rantz, 2025). These associations signal that Curtis is not acting in the county’s interest but is instead advancing an agenda rooted in political ideology rather than empirical evidence. This connection to far-right conspiracies has already fueled harassment and intimidation of local election staff, creating a hostile environment for civil servants tasked with safeguarding the vote (Huseman, 2024).

If voters in Shasta County do not act, the implications are severe: continued erosion of trust, compromised electoral integrity, and the normalization of unqualified officials in positions that are essential to democracy. The 2026 elections represent a crucial opportunity for the community to reclaim its election system, restore confidence, and reject individuals whose allegiance to conspiracy theories outweighs their commitment to the public (Barry University, 2023).

Shasta County deserves leadership rooted in competence, transparency, and adherence to the law. Curtis’s tenure is a cautionary tale of what happens when ideology trumps expertise, and it is up to the electorate to ensure that future elections are protected from individuals who prioritize personal agenda over public trust.

References

Abramsky, S. (2023, May 30). The takeover of Shasta County: How election deniers turned a rural California county into a testing ground for conspiracy politics. The Nation. https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/shasta-county/ 

Anguiano, D. (2025, May 9). How a Florida-based election skeptic came to run elections in California. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/09/voting-florida-elections-california

Arthur, D. (2025, May 12). “Sketchy:” Shasta County’s newly appointed elections chief’s work history questioned. Yahoo News. https://www.yahoo.com/news/sketchy-shasta-countys-newly-appointed-205049668.html

Associated Press. (2020, November 4). Election 2020: Joe Biden wins Florida, AP declares. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-miami-florida-cbc1e082911f6e318bfee63797bc6547 

Barry University. (2023). Best law schools. U.S. News & World Report. https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-law-schools/barry-university-03186

Benda, D. (2025, May 15). “You can’t just throw out Patty Plumb’s address”: Shasta elections boss faces new storm. Yahoo News. https://www.yahoo.com/news/t-just-throw-patty-plumbs-110315096.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall

Branson-Potts, H. (2022, November 9). In red California, election deniers rant about fraud. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-11-09/red-california-midterm-election-threats-fraud

Chamberlain, D. (2022, September 17). Welcome to the Supervisors’ Circus: Givers, Grifters; Leaders and Losers. Anewscafe. https://anewscafe.com/2022/09/17/redding/welcome-to-the-supervisors-circus-givers-grifters-leaders-and-losers/

Chapman, M. (2024, November 28). Distrust of Shasta County’s voting machines persists; counter protesters have their say. Anewscafe. https://anewscafe.com/2024/11/27/redding/distrust-of-shasta-countys-voting-machines-persists-counterprotesters-have-their-say/

Clint Curtis. (2025). Academic Dictionaries and Encyclopedias. https://en-academic.com/dic.nsf/enwiki/830561

Harting, A. (2025, April 22). Shasta County reveals final candidates for County Clerk role. KRCR. https://krcrtv.com/news/local/shasta-county-reveals-candidates-for-county-clerk-role

Huseman, J. (2024, June 25). How election conspiracy theories tore apart this remote Northern California county. CalMatters. https://calmatters.org/politics/2024/06/shasta-county-election-administration/

Kallepalli, N. (2024, April 16). Shasta registrar Clint Curtis claims the Secretary of State has greenlit his election plans. The state says otherwise. Shasta Scout. https://shastascout.org/shasta-registrar-clint-curtis-claims-the-secretary-of-state-has-greenlit-his-election-plans-the-state-says-otherwise/
 

Olmstead, M. (2023, October 18). Election denialists have taken their show on the road. Slate Magazine. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2023/10/kansas-legislature-election-denial-conspiracy-theories.html

More Questions for Florida. (2004, December 13). WIRED. https://www.wired.com/2004/12/more-questions-for-florida/

Pierce, A. (2025b, May 28). Clint Curtis, an outspoken opponent of the use of voting machines, has been selected as Shasta County’s next top elections official. Bay to Bay News. https://baytobaynews.com/stories/clint-curtis-an-outspoken-opponent-of-the-use-of-voting-machines-has-been-selected-as-shasta,222595

Powers, S. (2019a, August 14). Clint Curtis starts congressional campaign targeting TSA. Florida Politics. https://floridapolitics.com/archives/303069-clint-curtis-starts-congressional-campaign-targeting-tsa/

Powers, S. (2019b, September 6). Congressional candidate Clint Curtis hit with a gag order, can’t say why. Florida Politics. https://floridapolitics.com/archives/305228-congressional-candidate-clint-curtis-hit-with-a-gag-order-cant-say-why/

Rantz, L. (2025, June 25). Clint Curtis, computer programmer and Democrat whistleblower. Return to Hand Counting. https://returntohandcounting.com/doc/clint-curtis/

Ward, J., & Benda, D. (2025, May 6). Northern California county’s new top vote counter doubts voting machine accuracy. The Desert Sun. https://www.desertsun.com/story/news/nation/california/2025/05/06/shasta-county-new-election-head-clint-curtis-doubts-election-results/83430636007/

Zeller, S. (2018). Florida recount drama — Part III. New York Times. https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/cq/2007/04/30/cq_2648.html