By admin 
California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Secertary of State Shirley Weber filed a lawsuit on Friday aimed at blocking a Shasta County ballot initiative that would set up a range of new voting rules.
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If Measure B takes effect, it would ban mail-in ballots in Shasta County, mandate that election officials hand-count ballots and require voters to show photo identification to register to vote or cast a ballot.
In a statement, Bonta called Measure B “legally indefensible” because it attempts to supersede state election law.
“We are confident that the law is on our side and that Measure B will be struck down expeditiously,” he said. “No city or county gets to unliterally rewrite our election rules.”
Shasta County Clerk Clint Curtis is one of the main backers of the initiative. The Republican has repeatedly made unfounded claims about election fraud and reportedly threatened to “throat-punch” staff, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Around 55% of county residents voted in favor of Measure B last week. prevent it from taking effect.
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Curtis, who lost his bid for reelection in the June 2 primary, has maintained the measure is legal under the county’s charter status.
Shasta County Superior Court judges denied two prior lawsuits that aimed to block Measure B from appearing on the ballot, including one from Shasta County’s attorney Joseph Larmour, without ruling on the substance of their cases.
One of Measure B’s proponents Laura Hobbs, has acknowledged that there are “sections that are illegal” but told Jefferson Public Radio that others could be tweaked to fit federal and state law.
Bonta and Weber requested relief by Aug. 24, saying voters and election officials need certainty about whether they’re using the rules established by Measure B or the ones used across the state.
Reacting to the lawsuit Friday, Curtis told the Shasta Scout, a local news site, that he’d expected the lawsuit.
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“The courts are doing what they do,” he said.
This story was originally published June 12, 2026 at 5:16 PM.