Woman accused of election fraud to represent herself, seek jury trial

April 14, 2026

Gaea Powell

By KAREN VELIE

A San Luis Obispo County woman facing nine felony counts over alleged election fraud again plans to represent herself as she moves towards a jury trial.

On April 9, Gaea Powell filed a motion for “conflict counsel” in lieu of a public defender. San Luis Obispo County Judge Timothy Covello rejected the motion during a hearing on Monday and offered to appoint a public defender to represent Powell. She declined Covello’s offer and again pleaded not guilty.

Moving forward, Powell told CalCoastNews she plans to represent herself and is leaning towards a jury trial.

Powell allegedly violated multiple election laws when she ran for mayor of Arroyo Grande in 2020 and 2022. Prosecutors charged Powell with voter registration fraud, filing a false declaration of candidacy, fraudulent voting, failure to file campaign finance reports, and for perjury by declaration regarding her 2022 and 2024 campaigns.

The prosecution contends Powell registered to vote at an address on James Way in Arroyo Grande where she did not live in violation of election laws and that she failed to properly report income and campaign expenditures. Powell argues she had two residences, which gave her the right to chose which one was her primary address.

In addition, Powell said she made mistakes when she filled out other campaign related forms.

“So, I was supposed to see this buried code?” Powell said. “It was a mistake. The code was not disclosed to me.”

Powell is scheduled to return to court on May 18 for a trial setting conference. She hopes to expose the length of time the investigation took, nine months, and how it intruded on her privacy rights and her ability to make a living.

“My main idea about having this go to trial is to expose the process,” Powell said. “Are people being victimized by the DA?”

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