ANALYSIS AND GUIDANCE ON THE CALIFORNIA VOTING RIGHTS ACT

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BEST BEST & KRIEGER ATTORNEYS AT LAW Memorandum To: PUBLIC AGENCY CLIENTS From: BEST BEST & KRIEGERLLP Date: SEPTEMBER 22,2016 �It) C?'7 n RA 7. !'t C I T Y G F `'': r.i Ci.�' Cis ri , '. Re: ANALYSIS AND GUIDANCE ON THE CALIFORNIA VOTING RIGHTS ACT I. Backsround The California Voting Rights Act (Elections Code sections 14025 et seg.)("CVRA") became law on January 1, 2003. The CVRA is intended to prevent the disenfranchisement of protected classes. A "protected class" is defined as including members of a race, color, or language minority group. For reasons discussed further below, most often, public agencies threatened with a CVRA challenge change their election system from an "at large" system (where the entire population votes for the legislative body) to a "by -district" or "by -division" system (one where members of the legislative body are elected from specific geographic areas only by voters who live in those areas). Importantly for compliance and implementation purposes, the CVRA does not require a plaintiff to show the public agency has a discriminatory intent, or that minority voters live in a geographically compact area of the jurisdiction. Rather, the standard, is whether "racially polarized voting" has occurred. "Racially polarized voting" occurs when there is a difference between the choice of candidates preferred by voters in a protected class and the choice of candidates preferred by voters in the rest of the electorate. Since its enactment and seemingly more frequently recently, many public agencies in California have been threatened with litigation under the CVRA, or have been sued for alleged CVRA violations. These agencies include cities, school districts, and even smaller water and other special districts. The CVRA creates a "private right of action," enforceable by any voter who is a member of a "protected class" and who resides in the jurisdiction (referred to in the law as "standing"). Where public agencies' jurisdictions overlap (as is often the case with cities and school districts, for example), CVRA plaintiffs' attorneys may end up targeting each jurisdiction in succession. For this reason, it is prudent for public agency governing bodies and staff to quickly note and address any public concerns related to claimed violations of the CVRA within its immediate or surrounding jurisdiction. Accordingly, if a public agency is being targeted for potential CVRA violations, then neighboring public agencies will want to take notice and determine if action might be warranted. This product provided under the Public Policy & Ethics Group Program 09900,00000\29126,154.2