UCLA Voting Rights Project Applauds California Leaders’ Commitment to Protecting Democracy

LOS ANGELES (March 5, 2026) — Earlier today, Governor Gavin Newsom, Senate President pro Tempore Monique Limón, and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas announced a joint commitment to protecting California’s elections from potential federal interference. The announcement comes as states across the country face increasing pressure on election administration and new efforts that could undermine voter access. 

Statement from Matt Barreto, faculty director of the UCLA Voting Rights Project, released the following statement:

“The UCLA Voting Rights Project (UCLA VRP) is proud to be an anchor member of the California Democracy Partnership, a group of voting rights legal experts, policy advocates, and community organizers committed to preserving democracy in California. Today, UCLA VRP applauds the commitment made by Governor Gavin Newsom, Senate President pro Tempore Monique Limón, and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas to protect and defend our democracy.

“Just this week, we saw vote suppression on display in Dallas and Williamson County, Texas, where state leaders, employing an obscure state law, forced local election officials to make voting harder for everyone. Chad Dunn, legal director of the UCLA VRP, was part of the team on the ground in Texas working to allow all voters to cast their ballots on Election Day.

“In particular, one of these forced changes by the state of Texas was to assign a specific polling location to each voter and insist that the voter use that location and no other in the county. This represented a last-minute change from the way previous elections had been run for years. What is worse, the voter registration system that the state insisted these counties use was in such disarray that a voter who was trying to find their assigned location was told one location by state officials and a different location by county officials. Predictably, up to half of voters were turned away from the polls on Election Day, some given wrong information about where they should go next. Some voters stood in lines, sometimes twice, for hours.

When Dallas County reasonably sought to extend the voting period by two hours, a local judge agreed. However, within an hour, the Texas attorney general went to the Texas Supreme Court and secured a stay to block the polls from staying open. The Texas Supreme Court left the impression that any votes cast during the extended time would not be counted.

The lessons from Texas in March 2026 should reverberate nationally. Rather than confusing and frustrating voters or erecting new obstacles, there is an opportunity for California to become a national leader in protecting the right to vote for all citizens of all racial groups and all political affiliations.

California has already championed the Voter’s Choice Act and universal vote-by-mail, but the ongoing threat to our democracy continues to loom. California and its leadership are positioned to fight back and fulfill the promise of the fundamental right to vote.

ABOUT the UCLA Voting Rights Project

The UCLA Voting Rights Project was established to protect equal voting rights for all Americans through strategic litigation, social science research and policy advocacy. The VRP seeks to ensure that all individuals are afforded equal access to the electoral process and representation in governance. For more information about the UCLA Voting Rights Project, please visit vrp.ucla.edu.

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