Woman accused of election fraud loses lawsuit against SLO County

August 11, 2026

By KAREN VELIE

A San Luis Obispo County woman, who is accused of election fraud, filed three lawsuits against witnesses and agencies involved in her criminal case. Gaea Powell lost her case against the SLO County Clerk-Recorder’s Office on Tuesday, according to the ruling.

Prosecutors charged Gaea Powell in June 2025 with violating multiple election laws when she ran for mayor of Arroyo Grande in 2020 and 2022. She allegedly registered to vote at an address on James Way in Arroyo Grande where she did not live and failed to properly report income and campaign expenditures.

Powell then accused county employees of targeting her and of misconduct. Powell also claimed multiple witnesses – including the owners of the two properties where she said she lived – lied during her preliminary hearing.

In Sept. 2025, Powell filed three records requests seeking all emails and text messages between the SLO County Clerk-Recorder’s Office and county investigators and attornies regarding her charges. In addition, she wanted all correspondence related to two unrelated election fraud cases.

Gaea Powell

Powell contends it was inappropriate for SLO County Clerk-Recorder Elaina Cano to tell the Tribune the District Attorney’s Office was investigating her for election fraud. In her records request, she said, “One of my goals is to discover who confirmed the District Attorney’s investigation regarding me to Ms. Cano.”

The county denied her records request listing evidence and government codes related to attorney work product, attorney client privileged, official information, and investigations.

On Jan. 22, Powell filed a suit against SLO County for allegedly failing to comply with a public records request.

On July 17, the county provided a privileged log noting the dates of all emails between the clerk recorder’s office and the district attorney’s office regarding the investigation into Powell and former political candidates Michelle Morrow and Hunter Breeze. It showed 13 emails that discussed Powell from Sept. 25, 2024 through April 16, 2025.

The emails regarding Powell’s investigation were provided to the court in early August. The emails are unremarkable, with Cano first reporting a possible issue. Investigators then ask questions with Cano responding.

Following an Aug. 5 hearing, SLO Superior Court Judge Tana Coates ruled the emails between Cano and the SLO County Counsel’s Office are privileged. In regards to emails between Cano’s office and the SLO County District Attorney’s Office, the court found the county properly withheld privileged documents.

“The petition for a writ of mandamus seeking to enforce Powell’s Sept. 12,
22, and 16, 2025 public records requests is denied,” according to the judge’s ruling.

Powell’s criminal trial is scheduled for Aug. 31.

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