Shasta supervisor took trip to meet with MyPillow CEO; California AG sends letter to county

Kevin Crye, the Shasta County supervisor who has been in contact with MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell about replacing voting machines with hand counting, flew out to meet with the voter fraud conspiracy theorist.

Crye confirmed his "county-sponsored" trip at a Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday after two residents who were in attendance pressed him whether it was true.

What's more Crye and Board Chair Patrick Jones on Monday met with Shasta County Registrar of Voters Cathy Darling Allen. Also attending that meeting were Assistant Registrar of Voters Joanna Francescut, County Counsel Rubin Cruse Jr. and “some outside individuals.”

By "outside" people, Crye might have been referring to Linda Rantz, who Darling Allen confirmed was present. Rantz is co-organizer of Missouri Canvassers, a group that according to news reports is affiliated with Lindell.

Crye's acknowledgement of his trip and the subsequent meeting with Darling Allen came two weeks after the freshman county supervisor said he consulted with Lindell about helping Shasta develop a voting system that counts ballots by hand. Crye has said that he secured money from Lindell, which could be used to fight any legal battles the county encounters were it to go to hand-counting ballots.

As the county's decision to search for a voting system replacement continues to receive state and national attention, the California Attorney General's Office has been in touch with officials to ensure they are following laws on fair and efficient elections.

It also comes against the backdrop of Crye scheduling a town hall meeting on Thursday night for constituents of his District 1. Crye said attendees who sign up will have to bring proof of residency.

Lindell, a supporter of former President Donald Trump, has falsely accused Dominion Voting Systems of rigging the 2020 election and is currently fighting a defamation lawsuit filed by Dominion.

Jones, Chris Kelstrom and Crye voted to terminate Shasta County’s contract with Dominion, which now has the county scrambling to develop a new system before the March 2024 presidential primary.

More:Shasta supervisor contacts MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell as county weighs hand-count voting

At Tuesday's meeting, Nathan Pinkney, a county resident, asked Crye if taxpayers funded his trip to see Lindell.

"I was on a county-sponsored trip. Parts of my trip I paid for myself that were outside the purview of the county," Crye said. Crye did not say what he meant by county-sponsored.

Rantz authored a report “Missouri Election Fraud: Identifying the Evidence Outside the Machines.”

Darling Allen told the Record Searchlight that Rantz was there, but she declined to discuss specifics about the meeting.

“It went well. We got a lot of information,” she said.

Darling Allen plans to come to supervisors on March 28 with a proposal.

Asked to comment on Rantz’s authority as an election expert, Darling Allen told the newspaper, “I have not done any research into her qualifications and her expertise. I only know she was cordial.”

Darling Allen is scheduled to meet again with Crye and Jones on Wednesday. That meeting will talk about voting in California and the laws that are in place, Darling Allen said.

The California Secretary of State also will attend the meeting, Crye said.

“We are trying to develop a process and we are trying to develop common ground, so that we can all collectively, the board and my office, we can serve” the voters of Shasta County, Darling Allen said.

“We have really a tight turnaround here. I have a great sense of urgency of getting these issues resolved,” Darling Allen added, noting that there is a potential for at least one special district election to take place Aug. 29.

Related:What would happen if Shasta County opts for hand-counting ballots? We asked these experts.

Election experts have told the Record Searchlight that hand-counting ballots isn’t a bad thing, but the process gets more complicated the larger the community is. It would take more time and potentially could be more costly with larger jurisdictions. Shasta County has more than 110,000 registered voters.

A recent Brennan Center analysis said, “efforts to replace modern voting machines with hand-counting are based on false conspiracy theories. But the machines do still need to be protected and kept up to date.”

In a Feb. 27 letter to Jones, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the state wanted to be certain that Shasta County is aware of its obligation to conduct elections that are fair and efficiently conducted.

"If Shasta County has definitely terminated its contract with Dominion Voting Systems Inc., it should proceed swiftly and efficiently to enter a contract with a certified electronic voting system vendor well in advance of the March 2024 statewide primary election or any intervening election. Failing to do so will, as discussed above, likely render Shasta County in violation of numerous federal and state laws," the letter concludes.

This article originally appeared on Redding Record Searchlight: Shasta supervisor took trip to meet MyPillow CEO; AG sends county letter