A San Luis Obispo County jury has convicted Gaea Edde Powell, a conservative candidate who campaigned on tightening election rules, on all nine charges of election fraud.

District Attorney Dan Dow announced the verdict on September 21, 2026. Powell was convicted of eight felonies and one misdemeanor, including voter registration fraud, filing a false declaration of candidacy and fraudulent voting, arising from the 2022 and 2024 Arroyo Grande mayoral election cycles. Sentencing is scheduled for October 19, 2026.

Powell ran for county clerk-recorder calling for stricter voter ID rules and “election integrity”, with her campaign centred on what SFGate described as MAGA themes. Prosecutors alleged she registered to vote at an address where she did not live.

“The law applies to everyone, no matter their status in the community and no matter their political affiliation,” Dow said. The verdict drew national attention as a case of an election-integrity campaigner found guilty of the conduct she denounced.