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

Court Filings & Opinions → Democracy & Voting Rights

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.

Jobless During A Global Pandemic: The Disparate Impact of COVID-19 on Workers of Color in the World’s Fifth Largest Economy

LPPI examines the California labor force to identify workers who are jobless as a result of COVID-19. This report assesses these workers’ ability to access unemployment benefits, especially along racial and ethnic disparities.

Telehealth & COVID-19: Policy Considerations to Improve Access to Care

Researchers examine the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on access to care for vulnerable populations and offer policy recommendations to ensure continued access to high-quality care for all patients through telehealth, especially for patients in linguistically and medically underserved communities.

Struggling to Stay Home: How COVID-19 Shelter in Place Policies Affect Los Angeles County’s Black and Latino Neighborhoods

Experts from LPPI report that the ability for some residents and neighborhoods in Los Angeles County to shelter in place reflects entrenched inequalities in resources, health, environment, and access to care. Extractions of empirical evidence in this report support policy recommendations that address inequities facing residents and neighborhoods unable to shelter in place, especially communities of color.

COVID-19 and Migrant Child Detainees: Releasing & Treating Children in Detention

By examining public support for the release of migrant children and for the types of necessities child detainees should be allocated, LPPI expert Chris Zepeda Millán finds that 82% of the public supports releasing child detainees (to family members or sponsors) and over 90% support providing detained children with medical care and other basic necessities.

Shaping California’s Future: An Analysis of Latino Underrepresentation in the 2020 California Citizens Redistricting Commission Applicant Pool

LPPI assesses the 2020 California Citizens Redistricting Commission (CRC) applicant pool to identify the direction and magnitude of Latino underrepresentation. Other disparities relating to geographic distribution also limit the Commission’s ability to reflect the state’s diversity in redistricting.

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

Plaintiffs seeking access to vote-by-mail face legal uncertainty as to the claims that might enable their access to mail voting during this pandemic.

Implementing and Assessing Automatic Voter Registration: Lessons Learned and Policy Recommendations to Improve Voter Registration in the U.S.

This report offers a comprehensive review of different states’ voter registration practices, with a particular focus on the implementation and impact of Automatic Voter Registration (AVR).

California’s Physician Shortage During COVID-19: A Policy Roadmap To Expand Access To Care

For decades, California has been grappling with a severe physician crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the detrimental impacts it has on the lives of low-income residents and communities of color. The report offers policy recommendations to increase access to healthcare in preparation for a second wave and to build a lasting healthcare infrastructure for the state’s ongoing needs.

Debunking the Myth of Voter Fraud in Mail Ballots

The UCLA Voting Rights Project found that voter fraud in vote-by-mail ballots was virtually nonexistent, eliminating the concern as advocates push for universal vote by mail amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Left Behind During a Global Pandemic: An Analysis of Los Angeles County Neighborhoods at Risk of Not Receiving COVID-19 Individual Rebates Under the CARES Act

Amid the pandemic, Los Angeles County is facing disruption to its economy. LPPI estimates the proportion of Los Angeles County’s population that is least likely to receive a CARES Act individual rebate, to identify the communities that require targeted assistance in the COVID-19 pandemic.

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

This memo examines the main areas for improvement that should be addressed in any COVID-19 election response bill and compares H.R. 1, the landmark voting rights bill from the 116th Congress, on expanded vote-by-mail.

Read More | April 1, 2020

Letters and Memorandums → Democracy & Voting Rights

UCLA Voting Rights Project: Letter to Connecticut Governor

A letter from LPPI expert Matt Barreto and UCLA Voting Rights Project expert Chad Dunn urges Governor Lamont of Connecticut to reform absentee voting in Connecticut due to COVID-19 and improve accessibility to the voting polls.

Read More | April 1, 2020

Policy Report → COVID-19

Implications of COVID-19 on At-Risk Workers by Neighborhood in Los Angeles

Service workers in hospitality and sales workers in retail are highly impacted by COVID-19 related closures. Amid the COVID-19 public health crisis, Asian-majority and Latino-majority neighborhoods in Los Angeles County are most vulnerable to negative economic consequences due to workforce concentration in these service and sales sectors.

Read More | April 1, 2020

White Paper → Civil Rights

Voting and Infection Prevention of COVID-19

With support from LPPI, this memo from the UCLA Voting Rights Project addresses the concerns of COVID-19 that cause the disease to spread through in-person voting and vote-by-mail. From a medical expert’s perspective, this memo reviews the best practices for voting.

Read More | April 1, 2020

Policy Report → Civil Rights

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

With the ongoing concern that the novel coronavirus will affect turnout in upcoming elections, the UCLA Voting Rights Project explores effective and accessible voting practices for future elections in light of COVID-19.

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

This memo examines the three main areas for improvement that should be addressed in any COVID-19 election response bill, primarily the March 23, 2020 House Bill on expanded vote-by-mail.

The Power of the New Majority: A 10 State Analysis of Voters of Color in the 2020 Election

This report assesses the power of voters of color by analyzing 2008, 2012, and 2016 voting trends to predict the total number of eligible voters, registered voters, and turnout for 2020 by state. Focusing on the 10 most Latino populous states, this report finds that voters of color are shaping the 2020 presidential election in…

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