In two major redistricting victories, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) successfully proved that voting maps and systems violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) by discriminating against Black and brown voters. For decades, Latino voters in Washington state’s Yakima Valley region were denied an equal voice in Washington’s state legislature by maps that unfairly diluted their voices. For the first time, Latino voters in the Yakima Valley will be able to make their voices heard in state legislative elections on the issues that matter most to their communities.
 
Black, Latino and Asian American and Pacific Islander voters in Virginia Beach will now also have a fair election system and the opportunity to make their voices heard in local elections. Following a successful suit in which CLC represented Virginia Beach voters, this month the Virginia Beach City Council voted to adopt a “10-1” election system and a court-approved district map that ensures all voters in Virginia Beach will have an equal voice in local elections.

These victories come during the same summer as the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision, which affirmed that Section 2 of the VRA remains an important tool to ensure every voice can be heard and every vote counts equally.