FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Alberto Lammers
alammers@luskin.ucla.edu
UCLA VRP VICTORY: Federal Court Rules that Washington’s Legislative District Map Violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act
Seattle, WA – A federal judge ruled on Thursday that Washington State’s legislative districting plan does not allow Latino voters in the Yakima Valley region to elect candidates of their choice in violation of Section 2 of the federal Voting Rights Act (VRA).
The UCLA Voting Rights Project (UCLA VPR), together with the Campaign Legal Center (CLC), MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund), and attorney Edwardo Morfin of the Morfin Law Firm in Washington filed the lawsuit in January 2022 on behalf of individual Latino voters in the Yakima Valley area.
“From day one, the UCLA VRP has partnered with Latino voters in the Yakima Valley region to protect voting rights, and we are proud to continue to do so today with the help of our students and fellows,” said Chad Dunn, Legal Director of the UCLA VRP. “The UCLA Voting Rights Projects’ mission is to both protect the fundamental right to vote for Americans, especially those in communities that have been historically and routinely disenfranchised, and train a new generation of voting rights scholars, lawyers, and experts. Our mission was continuously fulfilled throughout the course of this case.”
In November 2021, the Washington State Redistricting Commission adopted a state legislative plan that was drawn to have a bare majority of Latino voters but did not afford those voters an equal opportunity to elect state legislative candidates due to dispersing and cutting out heavily Latino areas and communities in the Yakima Valley region. This practice is also known as “cracking.” After the state legislative map was passed, the VRP issued a letter to the Washington Redistricting Commission and Washington Supreme Court voicing concerns that the adopted map violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
“For the first time in Washington’s history, the historic Latino community in the Yakima Valley and Pasco region will be able to elect their preferred candidates to the State Legislature and have their voices heard,” said Sonni Waknin, Program Manager and Voting Rights Counsel at the UCLA VRP. “The assistance from students in the Voting Rights Policy and Law practicum at UCLA Law was invaluable.”
Since the suit was filed, students from the Luskin School of Public Affairs, UCLA School of Law, and the UCLA School of Social Sciences assisted the UCLA VRP throughout the case process. Two students were chosen to attend trial with the Voting Rights Project.
More information on the case can be found here.
The UCLA Voting Rights Project is an advocacy project housed within the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute.
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ABOUT THE UCLA LATINO POLICY AND POLITICS INSTITUTE
The UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute addresses the most critical domestic policy challenges facing Latinos and other communities of color through research, advocacy, mobilization, and leadership development to expand genuine opportunity for all Americans.
ABOUT THE UCLA VOTING RIGHTS PROJECT
The UCLA Voting Rights Project is the marquee advocacy project of the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles and is focused on voting rights litigation, research, policy, and training. The UCLA Voting Rights Project addresses monumental and overlooked gaps in the field of voting rights: how to train young lawyers and researchers, support the development of new legal and methodological theories for voting rights cases, and how to advance policy work to ensure that there is a new generation of leaders who are pursuing efforts to guarantee all citizens have equal and fair access to our democracy. The project was founded by Chad W. Dunn, J.D., and Matt Barreto, Ph.D. The UCLA Voting Rights Project is located within the Luskin School of Public Affairs.
To learn more about the UCLA Voting Rights Project, please visit
