SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Voting Rights Act of 2026 passed the state Senate floor on May 22, advancing legislation aimed at protecting Californians from voter suppression and vote dilution while expanding access to the ballot for historically underrepresented communities.
Written by state Sen. Sabrina Cervantes, D-Riverside, the California Voting Rights Act of 2026 is “a response to what the California Democracy Partnership calls voter concern about attacks on democracy,” according to Courthouse News Service.
Recent polling by the Los Angeles Times reveals that “two-thirds of California voters believe American democracy is under attack.” These surveys also show an overwhelming call for state lawmakers to strengthen voter protections for Californians. “Two-thirds of voters want California to enhance its own Voting Rights Act to ensure voters face no discrimination or suppression,” reports Courthouse News Service.
“We cannot stand by while Donald Trump and his Republican allies in Congress attempt to dismantle our democracy piece by piece,” stated Cervantes. “We must never allow the suppression or dilution of the votes of historically disenfranchised communities or discrimination against limited English proficiency voters.”
With the primary election now underway in California, Cervantes called the California Voting Rights Act of 2026 a “crucial step,” expressing hope that the bills will strengthen upcoming and future elections by making the ballot more accessible.
“Give voters the means to fight back against vote dilution and suppression and increase access to the translated materials for limited English proficiency voters,” said Cervantes.
Language access is a major component of the two bills. According to Courthouse News Service, “they would codify portions of the federal Voting Rights Act into state law, including the requirement that in-language ballots and other election materials are available to groups that meet a county-level threshold.”
The California Voting Rights Act of 2026 would also ensure that groups not properly represented in census data would be given the opportunity to demonstrate that they should receive language assistance.
Arnulfo De La Cruz, president of Service Employees International Union 2015 and a board member of SEIU California, stated “as threats to free and fair elections worsen in California and nationally, working Californians are united in their call for legislative action to protect our democracy and increase election integrity — from more inclusive language resources to ensuring our democracy in California is protected and strengthened.”
The California Voting Rights Act of 2026 bills would instruct courts to “interpret the law in favor of access and equal participation in the voting process,” reports Courthouse News Service. “The bills would reinforce Californians’ right to go to court to enforce their voting rights.”
“Right now, we are in the midst of a critical battle to protect the franchise of Black voters and other voters of color, who are facing the greatest assault on their voting rights since the era of state-enforced racial discrimination known as Jim Crow,” said Adam Lioz, senior policy counsel at the Legal Defense Fund.
The passage of these bills would require jurisdictions with recent histories of racial discrimination to obtain approval for any changes to their voting procedures before those changes take effect, according to the League of Women Voters of California. This would “protect against district maps or election systems that weaken or silence the voting powers of communities of color.”
“Elections should be inclusive, accessible, and reliable for all who participate, and the CRVA of 2026 demonstrates California’s leadership in upholding these values,” said Cervantes.
Managing Attorney for Voting Rights at the Asian Law Caucus said, “our best defense against attempts to silence our voices at the federal level is to strengthen and update our state-level voter protections. We already have some of the strongest voting rights laws in the country, but when laws are being subverted at every chance, our current safeguards may not be enough.”
“The State Senate’s passage of the California Voting Rights Act of 2026 helps put California back on the front lines, building on the state’s leadership in enacting the first-ever State Voting Rights Act in 2002,” said Lioz.
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