Guest Commentary written by

Matt Barreto

Matt Barreto is faculty director of the UCLA Voting Rights Project.

The affirmative right to vote is not listed anywhere in the Constitution. This omission led to states disenfranchising women and non-whites for the majority of our history. 

After the inclusion of women in 1920, the most important democratic expansion was the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and amendments in 1975 and 1982 to ensure all Americans an equal right to vote.  

In 2013 the Supreme Court gutted Section 4b of the Voting Rights Act, ending key protections. Then in 2021 it limited Section 2 of the act. Now in 2026 the court will decide Louisiana v. Callais, to determine if federal protections for majority-minority districts are allowed to continue. 

If the court strikes down key elements of the Voting Rights Act, it will have devastating consequences for voting rights in California. 

As the most diverse state in the country, California has the most Voting Rights Act-protected districts of any state. From Congress to the state Legislature, to county commissions and local school boards — districts that legally give Latino, Black, Asian and White voters in California an opportunity to elect candidates from their communities could suddenly come under fire and be eliminated.

However, the state of California can take matters into its own hands. While the U.S. Constitution does not guarantee the right to vote, Article 1, Section 4 prescribes “The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives, shall be prescribed in each State by the Legislature thereof.” Thus the ultimate body in control of voting rights is none other than the California state Legislature. 

Earlier this month, a statewide poll by UC Berkeley Institute for Governmental Studies reported that two-thirds of Californians feel democracy is under attack and want the state Legislature to pass a renewed California Voting Rights Act. 

California should take action now and enshrine full voting protections into state law, not wait and see what the Supreme Court does with the federal Voting Rights Act.

California was the first state to pass its own Voting Rights Act, signed into law in 2002, which has been heralded by the ACLU as “one of the state’s most significant civil rights laws and a powerful tool to combat vote dilution.”  However, today many of these protections are outdated amid new, strict court decisions and federal crackdowns on voting rights. 

In the past 10 years, many other states — from Washington to New York to Minnesota — have passed their own robust Voting Rights Acts. California can do the same, setting an example for the nation of how to protect the voting rights of all people, regardless of party registration, race, ethnicity or place of birth.

Already President Donald Trump has issued executive orders attempting to curtail voting rights, to limit vote-by-mail and erect new barriers to registration and voting. He has called for Republicans to nationalize elections and take over voting in 15 states. He has seized ballots in Georgia and Arizona, and his followers — including Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco — have seized ballots in California.  

In response to Trump’s actions, Gov. Gavin Newsom, Senate Pro Tem Monique Limón and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas said in a joint statement,  “We will not stand by while he sows distrust and seeks to undermine the fundamental right to vote … United across branches of government, we will work together to protect our free and fair elections this November.”  

According to the Berkeley poll, California voters do not want to see our elected leaders standing by. When asked about the state of democracy, just 9% of Californians said democracy is not in any danger, while 67% feel it is under attack and another 23% think it is being tested.

That’s why the California Democracy Partnership — a group of labor leaders, civil rights, community organizations and racial justice organizations — supports the California Voting Rights Act of 2026. It would stop discriminatory practices, challenge voter suppression, tackle vote dilution and give voters the power to fight back.

California voters need legislative leaders and the governor to turn their words about protecting free and fair elections into action.