Controversy Surrounds Job Offer Decline by Tina Peters

Tina Peters, known for her involvement in tampering with voting machines for the MAGA movement, recently turned down an offer to oversee elections in a conservative Northern California county. Clint Curtis, the Shasta County registrar of voters, commented on Tuesday that Peters declined the position because she is occupied with efforts to ensure election security nationwide.

In the previous month, Curtis stirred concerns across California by revealing his intention to hire Peters, a former Colorado county clerk who was released early from a nine-year sentence amid pressure from President Trump.

Curtis, also known for denying election results, planned to employ Peters as a consultant to supervise the upcoming November election. Her attorney, Peter Ticktin, stated that Peters seriously considered the role but had not discussed it recently. He mentioned that due to her busy schedule, it would not have been a full-time position.

Ticktin described Peters as an influential figure, emphasizing her meeting with the President in the Oval Office. The notion of hiring Peters faced immediate opposition from Governor Gavin Newsom and other Democratic leaders, who pledged to prevent her employment.

Newsom took to social media to express his disapproval, declaring, “A convicted MAGA election tamperer working in an elections office. What could possibly go wrong?” He strongly opposed her presence in California, emphasizing that election-denier felons are unwelcome.

The Governor’s press office labeled the job offer “a disgrace” and stated that steps were being taken to block her parole supervision transfer into the state. Peters, required to remain in Colorado unless permitted by her parole officer, once visited Trump at the White House.

Calling Newsom “crazy,” Curtis expressed amusement that the Governor concentrated on Peters’ felony despite advocating prison reform and rehabilitation. Curtis commented on California’s reputation as a “second-chance” state, except for Peters.

Peters, previously convicted in 2024, received a sentence of nine years for interfering with voting machines in Mesa County, Colorado. Her actions aimed to prove the 2020 election was rigged against Trump, a claim discredited repeatedly in court. She was found guilty of allowing unauthorized access to voting equipment and copying its hard drive during a software update.

After persistent pressure from Trump, Colorado Governor Jared Polis commuted Peters’ sentence, resulting in her release after serving less than a quarter of her term.

In interviews, Curtis mentioned Peters would function as an assistant registrar, albeit as a consultant, to bypass slow hiring processes. Brent Turner, the assistant registrar of Shasta County, stated that he had not vacated his position and welcomed Peters’ decision to decline the offer. Turner, an advocate for open-source voting systems, expressed satisfaction that Newsom was paying attention.

Curtis previously appointed Turner as his assistant, although Turner had been on medical leave. Turner criticized Curtis for discussing his health publicly and for not communicating with him since the proposal to hire Peters.

Turner emphasized the need for election officials to focus on their tasks and expressed a desire to move past the controversy. Curtis was appointed by the Shasta County Board of Supervisors last year and will depart office in January, having lost the primary to Joanna Francescut, whom he previously dismissed.

Curtis has attracted negative attention by sealing primary ballots in a room at the elections office, leading to calls for investigation by authorities. Despite requests for further inquiry, tensions continue in Shasta County’s election office.