Cervantes’ California Voting Rights Act of 2026 Approved by Assembly Appropriations
(SACRAMENTO) – Today, the California Voting Rights Act of 2026 (CVRA 2026), comprised of Senate Bills 1164 and 1360 authored by Senator Sabrina Cervantes (D-Riverside), was approved by the Assembly Appropriations Committee. CVRA 2026 updates the California Voting Rights Act of 2001 to address vote dilution, expands language access assistance to limited English proficiency (LEP) voters, and reinforces safeguards against voter suppression.
“Enshrining safeguards against voter suppression and vote dilution in California law has become more necessary than ever, especially in light of recent decisions by the Supreme Court of the United States and actions by the federal government undermining protections once found in federal law,” said Senator Cervantes. “Elections should be inclusive, accessible, and reliable for all lawfully registered California voters, and passing CVRA 2026 will demonstrate California’s leadership in upholding these values.”
The sponsor of CVRA 2026, the California Democracy Partnership, a growing group of civil justice, voting rights, and labor organizations, lauded the Assembly Appropriations vote for recognizing the need for the CVRA 2026.
“Voting is under attack across the country by those seeking to clear the path for rolling back decades of anti‑discrimination law, to replace lawful immigration policy with brute‑force enforcement, and to recast political dissent as disloyalty and treason. And that is why the California Voting Rights Act of 2026 is essential. California must act now, as the efforts to make voting harder and to limit remedies for the denial of the right to vote are only accelerating,” said Hector Villagra, Vice President of Policy Advocacy and Community Education, MALDEF – Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund.
According to recent polling, two-thirds of California voters believe democracy is under attack, and they overwhelmingly support state lawmakers in strengthening voter protections.
California Voting Rights Act of 2026 will:
- Prohibit Voter Suppression: Confront threats to voter participation and access to voting opportunities that occur through discriminatory barriers to the ballot.
- Prohibit Vote Dilution: Protect against electoral systems or district maps that weaken or silence the voting power of historically disenfranchised communities.
- Stop Voting Discrimination Before It Occurs: Require jurisdictions with a recent history of discrimination to obtain approval from the California Attorney General before making certain changes to voting policies or practices.
- Ensure Voters Can Directly Protect Their Rights: As voters’ ability to use the federal VRA comes under attack, ensure Californians can go to state court to enforce voting rights.
- Guarantee the Federal VRA’s Language Assistance Requirements Under State Law: Codify in state law the language access assistance services currently required by Section 203 of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, which is set to expire in 2032.
- Expand Upon Existing Section 203 Language Coverage: Expand language assistance service coverage for LEP voters beyond what is currently required by Section 203 to include additional language groups.
- Streamline and Clarify the Steps for Language Groups to Receive Assistance in Voting: Gives groups not adequately captured in the Census the opportunity to show, through other sources, that they should qualify for language access assistance.
Read more about Senate Bills 1164 and 1360. Both bills now move to the Assembly Floor.
# # #
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
