Hello Alumni, Colleagues, and Friends,

You are hearing from us through our newly-launched newsletter where we will bring you updates on our research, litigation, and various other opportunities–welcome!

First and foremost, our project, formerly housed within the Latino Policy & Politics Institute, transitioned to be the UCLA Voting Rights Project – an independent research center at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs – in July 2025.

We would like to express our gratitude to Dr. Amada Armenta and our colleagues at the LPPI who have supported the VRP’s efforts since its inception in 2018, and who have aided us in achieving this great milestone.

In particular, we would like to thank Dr. Scott Waugh, former UCLA Provost, for initially believing in this project and granting us the space to create the Voting Rights Project; and current Provost, Dr. Darnell Hunt, for continuously supporting and advocating for our cause.

Last, we would like to thank all of you, our incredible community. UCLA VRP would not be what it is today if it were not for all your enthusiastic support. 

Since its inception in 2018, the UCLA VRP has pioneered data analysis methodologies to observe and prove voting rights violations, successfully prosecuted cases to ensure equitable representation for disenfranchised communities throughout the U.S., and trained emerging voting rights advocates and leaders.

Please read on to find out what the UCLA Voting Rights Project has been up to, and let us know what you think at info@uclavrp.org. Learn more about the VRP on our website, and keep an eye out for our weekly email updates, A Voting Rights Minute!

Sincerely, 

Matt Barreto & Chad Dunn                                                                                                                      Faculty Director & Legal Director, VRP

POLICY & ADVOCACY

Through generous support from the Haas Jr. Fund, UCLA VRP is a proud anchor organization of the California Democracy Partnership where it has been working alongside other leading organizations to advance equitable voting rights and strengthen democracy in California. The VRP provided technical support, legal research, and policy analysis for a new state law, SB73 led by a champion for voting rights, Sen. Sabrina Cervantes, that protects California elections from federal interference and ensures ballots remain in custody of elections officials at all times.

In addition, VRP Senior Policy Advisor, former Speaker of the California Assembly, Anthony Rendon, has led efforts to advance important voting rights legislation in the California legislature this term. SB 1164 and SB 1360 both passed the State Senate and are currently being considered by the State Assembly. SB 1164, the 2026 California Voting Rights Act, and SB 1360, Translation of Election Materials, would both advance and strengthen voting rights for all Californians. 

VRP Senior Voting Rights Attorney, and former California Attorney General, Secretary Xavier Becerra, provided opening remarks at the April 2026 convening in Sacramento to discuss the importance of democracy protection and the results of a new UC Berkeley IGS poll that highlighted that Californians currently prioritize voting rights as a top policy issue facing our state.  In collaboration with our partners at the UC Center in Sacramento and UC Berkeley IGS, UCLA VRP led a panel discussion on polling results and what policy reforms might be on the horizon to protect democracy in California, and hosted Assembly Elections Chairwoman, Gail Pellerin, as well as California Secretary of State, Shirley Weber.

LITIGATION

The Supreme Court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais severely weakened the enforcement of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, an avenue used by many voters to challenge racial gerrymandering and laws that dilute the political power of minority communities. While this has been a devastating change to the voting rights landscape, the VRP is more committed than ever to the pursuit of equitable access to voting for all citizens, and calls on our community to remain steadfast in its support. The VRP is prosecuting a number of legal matters to continue to ensure court protection of our Right to Vote.

Riverside, CA: The UCLA Voting Rights Project, on behalf of Riverside voters, sued Riverside County Sheriff, Chad Bianco, after he seized almost 650,000 ballots cast in the 2025 Special Election and proceeded, he said, to count those ballots in private. The UCLA Voting Rights Project, with Xavier Becerra as co-counsel, filed a petition with the California Supreme Court asking the Court to order that the custody of those ballots be returned to the Riverside County Registrar of Voters office and that all counting and handling of ballots occur publicly, as required by California law. The California Supreme Court issued an order that Sheriff Bianco and the Riverside County Registrar of Voters must submit briefing as to why the VRP’s requested relief should not be granted by June 12, 2026. 

Hazleton, PA: In February 2024, the VRP team filed a lawsuit against the Hazleton Area School Board alleging their at-large electoral system is discriminatory and in violation of the Voting Rights Act and the 14th amendment of the Constitution. After successfully defeating an attempt by the School Board to get the case dismissed, Plaintiffs continue to actively litigate this case. While the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Louisiana v. Callais modified the standard used to challenge maps like that in Hazleton under the VRA, the evidence in the Hazelton case meets this new standard, making this case incredibly important as it continues through the federal courts. 

TX Congressional Redistricting: Texas Governor Greg Abbott called for a special session of the Texas legislature to propose redrawing the congressional district maps after receiving a written request from the Department of Justice. In August 2025, the Texas legislature approved the new mid-decade maps which dismantled existing Black and Hispanic opportunity districts. Civil rights groups, including the VRP, NAACP, and MALDEF, filed a lawsuit challenging the new map as racially discriminatory. In November 2025, a three-judge panel in federal court ruled that the redistricting constituted a racial gerrymander, which would have barred the map from being used for the 2026 midterms. On December 4, 2025, the Supreme Court stayed the District Court ruling in a 6-3 decision that allows Texas to use the map in 2026. 

FL Congressional Redistricting: On May 4, 2026, a partisan gerrymandered congressional map was signed into Florida law which violates the Florida Constitution's ban on partisan gerrymandering. The new map, in addition to discriminating against voters based on their political viewpoints, also demolished Black and Hispanic opportunity districts. In response, UCLA VRP immediately filed a complaint challenging the map as a violation of the Fair Districts Amendment in the Florida Constitution. On May 8, 2026, the VRP filed a Motion for a Temporary Injunction asking the trial court to enjoin implementation of the 2026 congressional map for the 2026 election cycle. An appeal is pending, but ultimately, it is expected the case will return to the trial court for a full trial where VRP and partners will present the overwhelming evidence of partisan purpose behind the plan.

RESEARCH

Bilingual Voting Access: VRP data science fellows Diego Casillas and Jessica Cobian produced research reports documenting the positive effects of bilingual voting materials for limited English voters. Highlighted by a panel presentation alongside policymakers in Sacramento, UCLA research documents a statistically significant increase in Latino and Asian American voter turnout in geographies that are required to provide bilingual voting materials. 

NEO Philanthropy Partnership: Thanks to a successful partnership with NEO Philanthropy, we welcomed Data Science Fellow Emma Kim to the UCLA VRP in 2024. Emma will now be entering her third year with our Data Team and has filled a key role. Among her many contributions, she provides data support to NEO Philanthropy and its stakeholders. Notably, she has conducted research for a project examining the impact of naturalized voters in U.S. Congressional elections. Her work includes using U.S. Census data and performing geospatial analysis to build databases and visualize congressional districts based on the eligible voting population of naturalized citizens.

California Secretary of State (SOS) Partnership: VRP Sr. Data Scientist Michael Rios has led a major project for the California Secretary of State’s (SOS) Office analyzing voter participation and trends for the 2025 Special Election, 2026 Primary Election, and 2026 General Election. The renewed partnership with Secretary Shirley Weber’s office follows previous reports for the 2021 Recall, 2022 Primary, and 2022 General Elections. The VRP first started its analysis of California elections in 2020 for then-Secretary Alex Padilla.

Our Data Team performs Bayesian Improved Surname Geocoding (BISG) analysis across more than 23 million registered voters to assess the racial probability of each voter and then aggregates these assessed probabilities to the county level to better understand how voters are participating in elections. The analysis includes incorporating some of the many cross-sectional characteristics that make up a voter, such as race, ethnicity, age, language, and nativity. 

PhD SPOTLIGHT

The VRP would not be where it is without the efforts of our Ph.D. students who advance the social science on voting rights:

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT

Where we will showcase the great work VRP alumni are doing across the nation.

Meet Kim Kooker, VRP alumna from the 2022-2023 school year. Kim graduated from UCLA Law in May 2024 and clerked for Senior US District Judge David Alan Ezra in the Western District of Texas, in the Austin Division from August 2024 to August 2025. She now works at Latham & Watkins LLP in their Austin office, primarily in their Environment, Land, and Resources Group, and was recently asked to speak at the Texas State Bar New Lawyer Induction Ceremony on April 27, after receiving the highest score on the February Texas Bar Exam. Kim also maintains an active pro bono practice through her work with Volunteer Legal Services of Central Texas.

A message from Kim: “My time with the VRP was an invaluable experience. I gained deep insights into the intricacies of litigating Section 2 claims under the VRA and am profoundly grateful to Professor Dunn and Professor Barreto for sharing their expertise.”

Meet Spencer Hattermer, a VRP alumni of the 2020-2021 school year. Spencer graduated second in his class from UCLA Law in 2022 and upon graduating completed clerkships for the Honorable R. Guy Cole, Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and the Honorable Edmund A. Sargus, Jr. of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. Spencer is now a practicing attorney at Cooper Elliott whose practice is grounded in civil rights, complex litigation, and advocacy on behalf of individuals and communities harmed by corporate and institutional misconduct.  

Thanks for sharing, Spencer and Kim!

Alumni of the VRP course? Share what you are up to here.

IN THE NEWS

Matt Barreto speaks to the L.A. Times about how a Hilton loss could give Trump fuel to claim voter fraud with zero evidence

VRP Senior Staff Attorney, Sonni Waknin, shares comments on the Louisiana v. Callais Supreme Court decision. Look for the two-minute mark in this news segment

VRP Senior Research Fellow, Jessica Cobian, describes the gaps in Census data that lead to undercounting language minorities, leaving many without translated voting materials

VRP Co-Directors explain CA and TX redistricting in L.A. Times

Chad Dunn provides legal analysis to CNN on Texas redistricting

Matt Barreto testifies in Federal Court against Florida State Senate gerrymandering

Michael Rios in Texas NPR discussing racial gerrymandering in Tarrant County

VRP will “continue to protect the citizens of Pennsylvania from unfair voting practices” — Bernadette Reyes on VRP lawsuit against Hazleton School Board

Tye Rush explains how negative racial attitudes drive belief in voter fraud and why that’s a big concern

How else can I support the VRP?

We will be sure to update you on community events, opportunities, or individual actions you can take that support our mission. If you are interested in collaborating or sponsoring our work on a larger scale, please reach out to us at info@uclavrp.org. 

If you would like to support research, policy advocacy, and impact litigation to promote equal access to voting for all Americans, please donate here. We appreciate your support!