Entries by Madeline Martinez

Catalysts of Insurrection: How White Racial Antipathy Influenced Beliefs of Voter Fraud and Support for the January 6th Insurrection

On January 6, 2021, the belief that voter fraud was to blame for Trump’s 2020 loss led thousands of people to storm the Capitol during election certification, aiming to occupy it by force to stop this process. While only thousands participated, millions more voiced their support for the insurrection, and this begs the question: What explains perceptions of […]

A Novel Method For Showing Racially Polarized Voting: Bayesian Improved Surname Geocoding

In Thornburg v. Gingles, the Supreme Court provided the elemental test for vote dilution claims under § 2 of the Voting Rights Act. In part, § 2 requires Plaintiffs to prove that voting patterns within the challenged jurisdiction are polarized by race. Because most states do not track the race of voters, social scientists developed statistical […]

Voter’s Choice Act: Understanding Language Access in Voter’s Choice Act Counties for the 2022 Primary Election 

The California Secretary of State’s Office commissioned this research report from the UCLA Voting Rights Project (VRP) to assess the effectiveness of the Voter’s Choice Act (VCA). These reports include data analysis on how voters that speak a primary language other than English cast their ballots during the 2022 Primary Election utilizing VoteCal data and […]

Voter’s Choice Act Report for the 2020 Primary and General Elections

This report, commissioned by the California Secretary of State’s office and conducted by the UCLA Voting Rights Project, provides a comprehensive overview of language access and voter participation for language minorities in the fifteen counties that implemented the Voter’s Choice Act (VCA) during the 2020 Primary and General Elections. Appendix B1 focuses on the 2020 […]

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Federal Court relies on expert report by VRP Director Dr. Matt Barreto in New Jersey v. Trump striking down Trump EO on birthright citizenship

Dr. Barreto authored expert report documenting the Trump birthright citizenship ban would harm state efforts to provide health care and other state services to the immigrant community LOS ANGELES (July 25, 2025) — United States District Judge Leo T. Sorokin issued a nationwide injunction blocking President Trump’s executive order which sought to end birthright citizenship […]