Sacramento, CA – Today, the California Voting Rights Act of 2026 (SB 1164 and SB 1360, Cervantes), advanced out of the Assembly Elections Committee with overwhelming support. The CVRA of 26 will enshrine nation-leading voting rights protections into state law and strengthen California’s democracy. SB 1164 will give all voters an equal opportunity to fully participate in the electoral process without interference and SB 1360 will guarantee access to the ballot for millions of voters.

“In the face of unrelenting federal attacks on our democracy, California has mounted our own defense to protect the rights of California voters. The CVRA of 2026 will combat voter suppression, prevent discrimination and give power to voters to defend their right to cast a ballot. Thank you to my colleagues in the Assembly for standing with voters by supporting the California Voting Rights Act of 2026. As we head toward November elections, it is essential that we protect our democracy and empower people to make their voices heard,” said Senator Sabrina Cervantes (D-Riverside), author of the CVRA of 2026.

The CVRA 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 district maps or election systems that weaken or silence the voting power of communities of color. 

• Stop Voting Discrimination Before It Occurs: Require jurisdictions with a recent history of discrimination to obtain approval before making certain changes to voting 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. 

• Apply the Law to Protect Voters: Instruct courts to interpret laws in favor of the right to vote. 

• Guarantee the federal VRA’s language assistance requirements under state law: Codify Section 203 of the VRA’s requirement to provide in-language votable ballots and all other election materials to groups that meet a certain threshold in a county.

• Expand upon current Section 203 language coverage: Lower Section 203’s numerical threshold for assistance from 10K to 5K of adult citizens in a county, and expand upon Section 203’s language minority categories to include all 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 assistance. 
  

“As the state makes needed investments in voter education, it is critically important that our legislators pair money with actions that safeguard our democracy. Today, the Assembly Elections Committee did just that. The CVRA of 26 will increase voter access to the ballot and give voters more access to directly defending their votes, two critical defenses against attempted disinformation and election interference by bad actors. We thank the members of the committee for voting today to protect and invest in our democracy and look forward to them continuing to support the bills when they come up for a vote on the Assembly floor,” said Ramla Sahid, Executive Director of the Partnership for the Advancement of New Americans (PANA) and a Steering Committee member of the Partnership.

SB 1164 and 1360 now head to Assembly Appropriations.

Learn more about the California Voting Rights Act of 2026 here: https://www.cademocracypartnership.org/CAVRA26

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Anchored in the belief that our democracy should be by the people, and for the people, the California Democracy Partnership is a growing group of racial justice, civil rights, union and community organizations focused on making sure our democracy works for everyone who calls California home. Learn more about our work and members of the Partnership here.