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Sonni Waknin


Issues

Program Manager and Voting Rights Counsel, UCLA Voting Rights Project

Sonni Waknin is the Program Manager of the UCLA Voting Rights Project and Voting Rights Counsel. Sonni believes that to ensure an equitable democracy, elections must be free, fair, and devoid of systemic racism. Voting is the right that preserves all other rights and must be defended. Waknin is responsible for managing all aspects of the Voting Rights Project, including the Project’s fellowship program and legal scholarship. She is currently counsel on Soto Palmer et al. v. Hobbs et al. and Portugal et al. v. Franklin County et al. She also recently defended the constitutionality of the Washington Voting Rights Act from a legal challenge. Waknin has wanted to be a voting rights litigator since she was in high school.

Previously, Waknin interned with the ACLU Voting Rights Project and for Common Cause’s National Redistricting Project. She holds her J.D. from UCLA School of Law, is an alumna of the David J. Epstein Program in Public Interest Law and Policy, and holds a B.A. from Rutgers University.

Reports from Sonni Waknin

More in the Research Library
Amicus Brief, Merrill et.al., v. Milligan et.al.
Amicus Brief Democracy & Voting Rights

Amicus Brief, Merrill et.al., v. Milligan et.al.

Pettaway v. Galveston County, Texas
Court Filings & Opinions Democracy & Voting Rights

Pettaway v. Galveston County, Texas

Navajo Nation, et al. v. San Juan County, NM et al.
Court Filings & Opinions Democracy & Voting Rights

Navajo Nation, et al. v. San Juan County, NM et al.

Soto Palmer et al. v. Hobbs et al.
Court Filings & Opinions Democracy & Voting Rights

Soto Palmer et al. v. Hobbs et al.

Riverside County Redistricting Memo
Letters and Memorandums Democracy & Voting Rights

Riverside County Redistricting Memo

Washington State Redistricting: WA Commission Map Dilutes Latino Vote and Violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act
Policy Report Democracy & Voting Rights

Washington State Redistricting: WA Commission Map Dilutes Latino Vote and Violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act

UCLA VRP Report Urges Orange County to Create Its First Latino-Majority District During the 2021 Redistricting Process
Policy Report Democracy & Voting Rights

UCLA VRP Report Urges Orange County to Create Its First Latino-Majority District During the 2021 Redistricting Process

UCLA VRP Report Urges Changes to Proposed Maps in Yolo County to Preserve the Strength of the Latino Vote
Policy Report Democracy & Voting Rights

UCLA VRP Report Urges Changes to Proposed Maps in Yolo County to Preserve the Strength of the Latino Vote

UCLA VRP Challenge to Discriminatory Signature Matching in Yakima, Benton, and Chelan Counties, Washington
Court Filings & Opinions Democracy & Voting Rights

UCLA VRP Challenge to Discriminatory Signature Matching in Yakima, Benton, and Chelan Counties, Washington

UCLA VRP Challenge to Discriminatory Signature Matching in Yakima, Benton, and Chelan Counties, Washington Press Release
Press Release & Media Advisory Democracy & Voting Rights

UCLA VRP Challenge to Discriminatory Signature Matching in Yakima, Benton, and Chelan Counties, Washington Press Release

Model Code for a State-Level Voting Rights Act
Democracy & Voting Rights

Model Code for a State-Level Voting Rights Act

Georgia: COVID-19 and Language Access Litigation
Letters and Memorandums Democracy & Voting Rights

Georgia: COVID-19 and Language Access Litigation

Portugal et al. v. Franklin County et al.
Court Filings & Opinions Democracy & Voting Rights

Portugal et al. v. Franklin County et al.

Trump v. Boockvar (Pennsylvania)
Court Filings & Opinions Democracy & Voting Rights

Trump v. Boockvar (Pennsylvania)

Election Material Language Access for the APPI Population in Tompkins County
Letters and Memorandums Democracy & Voting Rights

Election Material Language Access for the APPI Population in Tompkins County

Election Material Language Access for the APPI Population in Norfolk County
Letters and Memorandums Democracy & Voting Rights

Election Material Language Access for the APPI Population in Norfolk County

Election Material Language Access for the APPI Population in Kodiak Island Borough
Letters and Memorandums Democracy & Voting Rights

Election Material Language Access for the APPI Population in Kodiak Island Borough

Election Material Language Access for the APPI Population in Middlesex County
Letters and Memorandums Democracy & Voting Rights

Election Material Language Access for the APPI Population in Middlesex County

Election Material Language Access for the APPI Population in Howard County
Letters and Memorandums Democracy & Voting Rights

Election Material Language Access for the APPI Population in Howard County

Election Material Language Access for the APPI Population in Montgomery County
Letters and Memorandums Democracy & Voting Rights

Election Material Language Access for the APPI Population in Montgomery County

Election Material Language Access for the APPI Population in Champaign County
Letters and Memorandums Democracy & Voting Rights

Election Material Language Access for the APPI Population in Champaign County

Election Material Language Access for the APPI Population in Ramsey County
Letters and Memorandums Democracy & Voting Rights

Election Material Language Access for the APPI Population in Ramsey County

Election Material Language Access for the APPI Population in Maui County
Letters and Memorandums Democracy & Voting Rights

Election Material Language Access for the APPI Population in Maui County

Election Material Language Access for the APPI Population in Hudson County
Letters and Memorandums Democracy & Voting Rights

Election Material Language Access for the APPI Population in Hudson County

Election Material Language Access for the APPI Population in Kauaʻi County
Letters and Memorandums Democracy & Voting Rights

Election Material Language Access for the APPI Population in Kauaʻi County

Election Material Language Access for the APPI Population in Hawaii County
Letters and Memorandums Democracy & Voting Rights

Election Material Language Access for the APPI Population in Hawaii County

Absentee Ballot Language Access Materials for Spanish-language Limited-English Proficiency Voters
Letters and Memorandums Democracy & Voting Rights

Absentee Ballot Language Access Materials for Spanish-language Limited-English Proficiency Voters

Analysis of New York State’s Absentee Ballot Laws and Process and the Immediate Need for Absentee Ballot Reform
Policy Report Democracy & Voting Rights

Analysis of New York State’s Absentee Ballot Laws and Process and the Immediate Need for Absentee Ballot Reform

Protecting Public Health in the 2020 Elections
Policy Report COVID-19

Protecting Public Health in the 2020 Elections

Letter to Fort Bend
White Paper Democracy & Voting Rights

Letter to Fort Bend

Legal Theories to Compel Vote-by-Mail in Federal Court
Peer-Reviewed Articles Democracy & Voting Rights

Legal Theories to Compel Vote-by-Mail in Federal Court

Debunking the Myth of Voter Fraud in Mail Ballots
Policy Report Democracy & Voting Rights

Debunking the Myth of Voter Fraud in Mail Ballots

Analysis of H.R.1 and the Immediate Need for Expanded Access to Vote-By-Mail
Letters and Memorandums Democracy & Voting Rights

Analysis of H.R.1 and the Immediate Need for Expanded Access to Vote-By-Mail

Protecting Democracy: Implementing Equal and Safe Access to the Ballot Box During a Global Pandemic
Policy Report Civil Rights

Protecting Democracy: Implementing Equal and Safe Access to the Ballot Box During a Global Pandemic

Improving the March 23, 2020 House Bill on Expanded Vote-by-Mail
Letters and Memorandums Civil Rights

Improving the March 23, 2020 House Bill on Expanded Vote-by-Mail

Higginson v. Poway
Amicus Brief Democracy & Voting Rights

Higginson v. Poway