In March of 2006, FairVote and California Common Cause filed an amicus brief to defend the California Voting Rights Act of 2001, which would have allowed plaintiffs to challenge voting systems that dilute the voting strength of communities of color and to replace them with proportional or influence district voting systems. A state VRA showcases how states can protect voting rights even when Congress may weaken the federal Voting Rights Act. A judge threw the law out early in 2006.

Since then, the California Supreme Court upheld the statute in the Sanchez v. City of Modesto case. This historic move paves the way for introduction of this state voting rights act model in other states.

[ FairVote/Common Cause amicus brief (PDF) ]
[ More on the state VRA model ]