California lawmakers ban most hand-count elections, targeting far-right Shasta County

“California’s AB 969 legislation mandates state-approved machines for ballot counting, in response to Shasta County’s right-wing supervisors’ attempt to hand-count future elections. The bill, awaiting the governor’s signature, bans hand-counting in elections with over 1,000 registered voters, or 5,000 for special elections, except in emergencies. Shasta County’s conservative board had cancelled its contract with Dominion Voting Systems to hand-count ballots, based on unfounded election fraud claims. This left the county without a voting system for months. AB 969 also prohibits terminating a voting system without a new contract. The county had prepared for hand-counting, found more costly, time-consuming, and less accurate than machines. If the governor signs the bill, officials will revert to their electronic voting system. Despite the county’s investment in a new system and hand-counting staff, state intervention will save millions.”
Source: NPR