Shasta County supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday not to defend Measure B against a lawsuit filed by the California attorney general.
The charter amendment, approved by voters in the June primary, would make sweeping changes to the county's elections system.
Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit sued shortly after the election, arguing several provisions violate California law, including requiring hand-counting of ballots and restricting voting by mail.
Supporters urged the board to defend the measure during Tuesday's meeting.
"Your disagreement with the tenets of the measure, which has been voted into law, should not affect or diminish your overarching role of supporting the electorate's will to implement Measure B," supporter Deirdre Holliday told supervisors.
County Counsel Joseph Larmour asked the courts in March 2025 for permission to stop processing the ballot measure, arguing it was unconstitutional and would be misleading to the public. But a judge denied the request, and the county later dropped the lawsuit.
The county also declined to defend Measure B in another lawsuit, which was filed by Redding resident Jennifer Kastke in an effort to keep it off the ballot. Instead, the measure's proponents intervened and defended it themselves. A judge allowed the measure to remain on the ballot but did not rule on whether its provisions were legal.
"Nobody's preventing the proponents of Measure B from hiring counsel and arguing their position in a court of law," former Shasta County Public Defender Jeff Gorder said. "They have the ability to do that."
Supervisors made the decision during closed session. Supervisor Kevin Crye was absent.
