What is the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA)?

In 2001, the state legislature approved the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA), modifying burden of proof requirements contained in the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 to make it easier for plaintiffs to challenge at-large voting systems. Federal protected classes include members of the same race, color, national origin, religion, sex/gender, age (over 40), and disability. The CVRA prohibits an agency from using at-large elections if it impairs the ability of a protected class to elect candidates of its choice or otherwise influence the outcome of an election. The CVRA includes the imposition of district-based elections by a court as a remedy to violations of the Act, and requires the government agency to pay all legal and court fees of a plaintiff that prevails in the courts.


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1. What is the California Voting Rights Act (CVRA)?
2. What is racially polarized voting?
3. What are district-based elections?
4. Will the change to a district-based election system affect my vote?
5. Why is the city moving to district-based elections?
6. What is the timeline to move to district-based elections?
7. Why is this happening so fast? Can we slow down the process?