FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Alberto Lammers; alammers@luskin.ucla.edu
Following White House Executive Order on Voting, UCLA Voting Rights Project Appoints Becerra and Rendon to Leadership Team to Protect Voting Access
Veteran California leaders to lead mobilization efforts against Trump’s new voter citizenship executive order.
LOS ANGELES (March 27, 2025) — With the stroke of a pen, Donald Trump is attempting to disenfranchise millions of voters across the country—particularly targeting diverse states like California—by mandating documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to vote in federal elections. In response to this sweeping executive overreach, the UCLA Voting Rights Project (UCLA VRP) is doubling down on its mission to protect voting rights by bringing on two of California’s most seasoned and respected public servants. Xavier Becerra, former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services and California Attorney General, joins as senior strategic advisor. Anthony Rendon, former Speaker of the California Assembly, joins as senior public policy advisor to help lead the fight for democratic access and voter protection.
“This executive order is a direct threat to millions of eligible voters and a sweeping federal overreach that demands a California response,” said Matt Barreto, professor of political science and faculty director of the UCLA VRP. “By adding Secretary Becerra and Speaker Rendon to our team, we are assembling the legal brain trust needed to stand up to this federal overreach and protect the constitutional right to vote for every single Californian. Their experience defending civil rights at the highest levels will be invaluable in this fight.”
As California’s Attorney General from 2017 to 2021, Xavier Becerra built a formidable record challenging unconstitutional federal actions threatening Californians. He spearheaded the defense of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) when the Trump administration refused to do so, taking the case all the way to the Supreme Court and winning. He led the landmark legal battle before the Supreme Court to protect the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and won — blocking then-President Trump’s attempt to end DACA protections for some 700,000 Dreamers. As state AG, he created a special unit to safeguard women’s reproductive rights, to crack down on Medicaid fraud, and to protect our most vulnerable citizens from air and water pollution.
Becerra went on to serve as U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary, where he doubled the number of Americans with affordable health coverage under the ACA and raised the overall number of Americans with health insurance to a record 300+ million. He is the first Secretary to successfully negotiate lower prescription drug prices for Americans with Medicare. And he steered HHS’ national strategy to pull America out of the COVID pandemic, achieving some 700 million vaccine shots in the arms of Americans. In his new role as Senior Strategic Advisor, Becerra will advise VRP’s strategy to counter federal overreach on voting rights.
“We all have a duty to step up when Americans’ fundamental rights are threatened,” said Becerra. “As California’s Attorney General, I stood up to unconstitutional overreach by the Trump Administration and proved that the law – and the will of the people – can prevail. I am proud to join the UCLA Voting Rights Project to defend every American’s right to vote.We will use every legal tool at our disposal to ensure Americans are not disenfranchised by unscrupulous government schemes.”
During his tenure as Speaker of the California Assembly (2016–2023), Anthony Rendon was a leading architect of policies to expand democratic access and equity in California. Under Rendon’s leadership, the state enacted nation-leading voting reforms, including the implementation of universal vote-by-mail for all registered voters. What began as an emergency measure in 2020 was made permanent by legislation in 2021 (AB 37), ensuring every active registered voter is mailed a ballot in every election. California saw record voter participation as a result. Rendon also helped advance a state constitutional amendment to restore voting rights to people on parole, a measure overwhelmingly approved by voters as Proposition 17 in 2020 – returning the right to vote to roughly 50,000 Californians who had completed their prison terms.
Throughout his speakership, Rendon championed legislative efforts to reduce barriers to voting, increase civic participation, and promote equity in representation. In his capacity as Senior Public Policy Advisor, he will help shape the UCLA VRP’s policy response to voter suppression efforts and develop proactive strategies to expand ballot access at the state and national levels.
“California has proven that we can broaden voter access and strengthen democracy at the same time,” said Rendon. “While some leaders try to erect barriers to voting, we’ve removed them – from mailing ballots to every voter to restoring voting rights for returning citizens. I have zero tolerance for attempts to disenfranchise our communities. In this new role, I’ll bring the lessons we learned in the Legislature to help the UCLA Voting Rights Project push back against this assault on voting rights. Together, we will make sure California leads the way in protecting democracy.”
Both Becerra and Rendon join VRP with long histories of defending civil rights and the rule of law. Their appointments come as California officials and voting rights organizations are gearing up to resist the President’s executive order. The order conditions federal election funding on state compliance with new voter restrictions and citizenship verification mandates.
“This is exactly the kind of moment the UCLA Voting Rights Project was built for,” said Chad Dunn, legal director at UCLA VRP. “When unconstitutional mandates threaten to strip eligible Americans of their right to vote, we meet that moment with experience, legal firepower, and a commitment to justice. Secretary Becerra and Speaker Rendon have been on the front lines of some of the most consequential civil rights battles of the past decade. Their leadership will be instrumental as we mobilize to protect voters—not just in California, but across the country.”
ABOUT THE VOTING RIGHTS PROJECT
The UCLA Voting Rights Project is a project of the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, in collaboration with the UCLA School of Law aimed at creating an accessible and equitable system of voting for all Americans through impact litigation, research, and clinical education to expand access to the ballot box.
Founded in 2018 by civil rights attorney Chad W. Dunn, J.D. and voting rights political science expert Matt Barreto, Ph.D. the VRP seeks to address three gaps in the voting rights field: training newly graduated, young lawyers and expert witnesses; developing new legal and social science theories for voting rights cases; and advancing voting rights through national and local public policy and litigation.
The VRP seeks to ensure that all individuals, regardless of race, partisanship, gender or class are afforded equal access to the electoral process and representation in governance. For more information about the Voting Rights Project, please visit vrp.ucla.edu
