Image by Wokandapix from Pixabay 

March 27, 2026 - SACRAMENTO - On Wednesday, Senator Sabrina Cervantes (D-Riverside) introduced Senate Bill 1164 and Senate Bill 1360, collectively termed The California Voting Rights Act of 2026 (CVRA 2026). CVRA 2026 will fight voter suppression and vote dilution, expand access to the ballot and election materials for limited-English-proficient voters, and provide California voters with a direct means of fighting back when local governments try to silence their voices. CVRA 2026 is being proposed with collaborative support from the California Democracy Partnership, a powerful group of labor leaders, voting rights advocates, and community organizers who are committed to preserving democracy in California.

“We cannot stand by while Donald Trump and his Republican allies in Congress attempt to dismantle our democracy piece by piece,” said Senator Cervantes, a staunch champion of voter rights. “I’m proud to author the California Voting Rights Act of 2026 to preserve democracy in California. We must never allow the suppression or dilution of the votes of historically disenfranchised communities or discrimination against limited-English-proficient voters. CVRA 2026 will bolster defenses against voter suppression and improve access to the ballot by ensuring more California voters can access election materials in their native languages. We must act against the chaos emanating from the White House and protect the essential right of California voters to choose their leaders at the ballot box.”

CVRA 2026 will:

• Enshrine the language assistance requirements provisions of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 in state law: Codify Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which provides 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 the numerical threshold in Section 203 of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 for language assistance from 10,000 voting-age citizens to 5,000 in a county and expand upon the language minority categories in Section 203 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 should qualify for language assistance.
• Streamline and clarify the steps for language groups to receive assistance in voting: Give historically disenfranchised language groups insufficiently captured in the Census the opportunity to show, through other means, that they should qualify for language assistance.
• Prohibit voter suppression and vote dilution: Improve options to break discriminatory barriers to the ballot and fight district maps or election systems that weaken or silence the voting power of historically disenfranchised communities.
• Prevent voting discrimination before it happens: Require jurisdictions with a history of voting discrimination to obtain approval from the California Attorney General before making certain changes to voting practices.
• Provide voters with avenues to protect their rights: As avenues for voters to avail themselves of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 come under attack, ensure California voters can go to state courts to protect their voting rights.
• Require courts to interpret laws in favor of voters: Ensure courts interpret state election laws in a manner that prioritizes voters’ access to the ballot and equal participation in the democratic process.

“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,” said Arnulfo De La Cruz, President of SEIU Local 2015 and SEIU California Executive Board Member. “Through the California Democracy Partnership, SEIU California and our 750,000 members are committed to standing with Senator Cervantes in the fight to ensure working people have our voices heard and are grateful for her partnership on the California Voting Rights Act of 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.

Senate Bills 1164 and 1360, the California Voting Rights Act of 2026, are currently in the Senate Rules committee, awaiting referrals to Senate policy committees.

Source: Senator Sabrina Cervantes