VRP Returns to San Juan County, New Mexico
Three years after obtaining a successful settlement map on behalf of the Navajo Nation and Navajo voters, UCLA VRP returned to San Juan County to provide public education about the upcoming elections under the new map, which grants Navajo voters equal opportunity to elect their preferred candidate to the County Commission. Working with the Navajo Nation Human Rights Commission, Senior Data Scientist Michael Rios presented key voter information to help local voters prepare for the 2026 general elections.
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U.S. Supreme Court Sends Washington State Legislative Map Case Back to Court of Appeals
This week, in a procedural move, the U.S. Supreme Court sent Trevino v. Hobbs back to the lower court for further review based on the April 2026 decision in Louisiana v. Callais. The Supreme Court’s order comes after a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that affirmed the legality of a new Washington state legislative map put in place by a district court to remedy a violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA).
“[Monday]'s order does not decide the merits of this case,” said Sonni Waknin, senior voting rights counsel at UCLA VRP. “We will continue to move forward and ensure that a fair map exists in Washington state.”
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Annually, over 580,000 mail-in ballots are rejected across the country, and evidence from California and Washington demonstrates that personal and racial biases disproportionately impact signature verification, leading to:
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- A 4x higher rejection rate for non-White Voters;
- A 10x higher rejection rate for young voters; and
- A 2-5x higher rejection rate for median-age Latino voters, compared to their White counterparts, in nearly every California county.
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💼Employment Opportunities - Come work with the VRP!🚨
Staff Attorney
The UCLA Voting Rights Project (VRP) seeks an experienced litigation, trial, and appellate attorney to work on a new project focused on California county, city, school, and state redistricting plans and election policies. Reporting to the Legal Director, the staff attorney/California Voting Rights Counsel will play a critical role in the VRP, developing a new program along with data scientists, to track and analyze redistricting plans and proposed changes within local jurisdictions throughout the state of California. See the full job description here.
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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!
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