PRESS RELEASE
Landmark State Voting Rights Legislation Heads to Governor’s Desk
Sacramento, CA – The California State Assembly this week voted to pass the California Voting Rights Act of 2026 (CVRA of 2026): Senate Bills 1164 and 1360 by Senator Sabrina Cervantes (D-Riverside). The timely legislative action, sponsored by the California Democracy Partnership, updates the landmark California Voting Rights Act of 2001 to add new and strengthened protections against voter discrimination, safeguard voters from losing current language coverage, and bolster our democracy which remains under threat from federal and local attacks.
“States are the first line of defense between voters and federal attacks on our democracy, ” said Senator Sabrina Cervantes (D-Riverside), the author of the California Voting Rights Act of 2026. “California voters want us to defend their voices and their ability to cast their ballots freely and fairly. We need to make sure that voting rights are protected in the Golden State, no matter what kind of chaos is emanating from Washington, D.C. I want to thank Speaker Rivas and our colleagues in the Assembly for moving the California Voting Rights Act of 2026 forward today.”
The California Democracy Partnership, a growing group of civil rights, voting rights and labor organizations, is sponsoring the CVRA of 2026. Advocates celebrated today’s advancement of the CVRA of 2026 out of the Assembly.
“Generations before us fought to expand the freedom to vote, and now it is our responsibility to carry that work forward. The CVRA of 2026 will strengthen voters’ ability to participate in our democracy and defend their rights, from expanding access to in-language voting materials to stronger protections against voting discrimination. We thank the Assemblymembers who voted to pass the CVRA of 2026 and call on Governor Newsom to stand with voters and sign these bills into law,” said Julia Gomez, Senior Staff Attorney, ACLU of Southern California.
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 a community’s voting power.
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.
Require Courts to Interpret Laws in Favor of Voters: Direct courts to interpret laws and exercise discretion in favor of broad access and equal participation in the democratic process.
Guarantee the federal VRA’s language assistance requirements under state law: Codify Section 203 of the federal VRA’s requirement to provide in-language votable ballots and all other election materials to groups that meet a certain threshold in a county.
Protect and Expand Language Access: Expand beyond federal language categories to include all language groups.
Streamline and clarify the steps for language groups to receive assistance in voting: Give groups not adequately captured in the Census the opportunity to show, through other sources, that they meet one of the thresholds.
Learn more about the California Voting Rights Act of 2026 here: https://www.cademocracypartnership.org/CAVRA26
###
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.