Voting Rights Project

The UCLA Voting Rights Project is a project of the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs 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.

Research

Amicus Brief → Democracy & Voting Rights

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

On July 18, 2022, UCLA Voting Rights Project (VRP) filed an amicus brief on behalf of UCLA Social Scientists with the U.S. Supreme Court in the voting rights case Merrill et. al., v. Milligan et. al. The VRP argued for the Court to keep the Voting Rights Act’s longstanding protections of minority voting rights intact.

Pettaway v. Galveston County, Texas

UCLA Voting Rights Project, along with the Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a supplemental complaint to an ongoing lawsuit against Galveston County’s redistricting map.

Soto Palmer et al. v. Hobbs et al.

The UCLA Voting Rights Project, in partnership with Campaign Legal Center and MALDEF are suing the state of Washington over their newly approved legislative maps as one of the legislative districts has the effect of diluting Latino voters ability to elect candidates of choice in the Yakima Valley region.

Riverside County Redistricting Memo

As the Riverside County Board of Supervisors begins to finalize its new district map for adoption, the County must adopt a map that respects Latino voters and other communities of color that have grown over the past ten years.

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

On November 15, 2021, the Washington Redistricting Commission failed to meet its constitutional deadline and timely approve fair, compliant, and equitable redistricting plans for Washington’s legislative and congressional districts.

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

The UCLA Voting Rights Project is urging the Orange County Board of Supervisors to create the county’s first Latino-majority supervisorial district and to increase the political influence of its growing Asian American electorate in a report issued today. The UCLA VRP’s analysis is intended to inform the 2021 district maps.

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

The UCLA Voting Rights Project today issued a memo to the Yolo County Board of Supervisors urging them to reject redistricting map proposals that would split the Latino vote in the only supervisorial district where a Latino official has been elected.

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

Thousands of Latino voters have had their votes disproportionally affected due to the State’s ballot signature matching provisions and processes. By rejecting ballots based off the race of a voter, Washington is violating voting rights such as the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendment.

Model Code for a State-Level Voting Rights Act

In our system of dual sovereignty, it is clear that states must offer more robust protections for an individual’s right to vote. The enactment of the model code will ensure that adopting jurisdictions provide voting protections that are higher than the federal standard, making fair and equal franchise a reality.

Portugal et al. v. Franklin County et al.

Franklin County’s electoral system has diluted Latino votes and has served as an effective barrier in preventing Latinos from having an equal opportunity to elect their candidates of choice.

Texas League of United Latin American Citizens v. Abbott

On October 1, 2020, after voting had begun, Governor Greg Abbott issued a proclamation that prohibited the counties in Texas from offering absentee voters more than one location to return completed absentee ballots in person.

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

With the rise in COVID-19, New York’s election laws need to improve their absentee ballot process in order to ensure that there is no voter disenfranchisement.

Republican National Committee v. Newsom

California Governor Gavin Newsom and Secretary of State Alex Padilla are sued over Newsom’s executive order that allows all California voters to receive vote-by-mail ballots for the November election.

Texas Democratic Party v. Abbott

Application to vacate the Fifth Circuit’s stay and to reinstate the Distrct’s Court preliminary injunction, which would protect the health of voters and their right to vote.

New Mexico Vote-by-Mail: Matters of the Primary and State Election Laws

This report details the existing voting landscape in New Mexico, examines some of its shortcomings, and proposes a series of remedies to ensure that all voters have an equitable opportunity to cast their ballot in November and beyond. This is an ideal time to consider these issues given that voting laws may feature in the deliberations of the special legislative session this week.

Letter to Fort Bend

The UCLA Voting Rights Project has observed that Fort Bend County is not providing its sizable and rapidly growing Chinese and Vietnamese communities with the resources to best exercise their right to vote. The UCLA Voting Rights Project wrote a letter to bring this shortcoming to the Fort Bend County’s attention so that their officials can collaborate to provide a timely remedy in advance of the upcoming elections.

Voting Rights Project

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