Jury Convicts Arroyo Grande Mayoral Candidate of Election Fraud on All Nine Counts
Author: District Attorney
Date: 9/21/2026 4:24 PM
District Attorney Dan Dow announces the conviction of Gaea Edde Powell on all nine charges of election fraud arising from the 2022 and 2024 Arroyo Grande mayoral election cycles.
District Attorney Dan Dow announced today that a San Luis Obispo County jury has convicted Gaea Edde Powell (DOB 12/02/1962) on all nine counts charged — eight felonies and one misdemeanor — for election fraud committed during the 2022 and 2024 Arroyo Grande mayoral election cycles. The jury began deliberating at 9:00 a.m. this morning and returned its verdicts at 3:00 p.m. Sentencing is scheduled for October 19, 2026.
"I am grateful for the hard work this jury put into a case that stretched over several weeks. They listened carefully to every witness and did the hard work our system asks of ordinary citizens," said District Attorney Dan Dow. "This case is about accountability under the law for everyone, so that voters can have more trust in the election process. The integrity of our elections is paramount. This verdict makes clear that voters must register to vote in accordance with the law, and that potential candidates must be lawfully registered to vote in the jurisdiction where they intend to run for public office. Justice is blind. The law applies to everyone, no matter their status in the community and no matter their political affiliation, and every defendant will be treated fairly by this District Attorney's Office."
Following a ten-day trial, the jury found Powell guilty of: voter registration fraud on July 12, 2022 (Count 1, felony); perjury by declaration on July 18, 2022 (Count 2, felony); filing false nomination or declaration papers on August 8, 2022 (Count 3, felony); failure to provide written notification under the Political Reform Act on October 10, 2022 (Count 4, misdemeanor); fraudulent voting in the November 8, 2022 election (Count 5, felony); fraudulent voting in the March 5, 2024 election (Count 6, felony); perjury by declaration on July 16, 2024 (Count 7, felony); filing false nomination or declaration papers on August 1, 2024 (Count 8, felony); and fraudulent voting in the November 5, 2024 election (Count 9, felony).
The evidence at trial showed that on July 12, 2022, Powell registered to vote using an address on James Way inside the Arroyo Grande city limits, and then repeatedly represented that address as her residence: in a declaration signed under penalty of perjury on July 18, 2022; in nomination papers and a declaration of candidacy filed August 8, 2022; in another declaration under penalty of perjury on July 16, 2024; and in nomination papers filed August 1, 2024. Using ballots issued to that address, she voted in the November 2022, March 2024, and November 2024 elections.
The evidence further showed that from 2022 through 2024 Powell resided solely at a home on Heritage Lane in unincorporated Arroyo Grande — outside the city limits and outside the jurisdiction of the City of Arroyo Grande. Under California law, a person may register and vote only at his or her domicile, meaning the place where the person's habitation is fixed and to which the person intends to return, and a person may have only one domicile at a time. The court took judicial notice of Elections Code sections 349, 2021, and 2024, and read those provisions to the jury.
Jurors also heard that on June 30, 2022, the Arroyo Grande City Clerk advised Powell that people residing outside the city limits were not eligible to run for office in Arroyo Grande, and that on July 18, 2022, the City Clerk discussed the campaign finance reporting obligations triggered when a campaign raises or spends $2,000 or more. Powell filed a short-form statement indicating she did not intend to raise or spend more than $2,000, took an active role in raising and spending more than $2,000 on campaign mailers, never filed the required amended notification, and denied any knowledge of the mailers when contacted by the Fair Political Practices Commission.
The People also introduced Powell's own words from before the November 2024 election, including her statement online that an improperly registered voter could influence an election where that voter did not live, "damaging the integrity of local elections," and her email to a reporter stating that if a ballot is sent to an address that is not a person's current residence and that address is in a different city or county, "that vote would be cast in an area the voter should not be voting in."
Powell represented herself at trial after waiving her right to counsel. In closing argument, Deputy District Attorney Ben Blumenthal told the jury, "This is not about left versus right or right versus left. This is about what is right and wrong."
Powell remains out of custody pending sentencing under special terms, including a court order restraining her from molesting, annoying, threatening, or harassing any of the non-law enforcement witnesses in the case. Those witnesses include her landlord, her former business partner, and the Arroyo Grande City Clerk, each of whom testified at trial.
The Probation Department will prepare a pre-sentence report with a sentencing recommendation for the court's reference. Sentencing is scheduled for October 19, 2026, in Department 5 of the San Luis Obispo County Superior Court, the Honorable Timothy S. Covello presiding.
This case was investigated by the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Bureau of Investigation, with Senior District Attorney Investigators Fred Pflum and Nicholas Coughlin assigned. The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Ben Blumenthal of the District Attorney's Public Integrity Unit, which was founded in 2015 with a mission to hold elected officials, public employees, and candidates for office accountable to the rules and laws that govern them. There was no assigned victim advocate in this case. Witness coordination services were provided by Witness Coordinator Eloiza Basinger.
Here is a copy of the charging document. Here is a copy of the booking photo.
Members of the media may contact Assistant District Attorney Eric J. Dobroth at 805-781-5819 for additional information.