Learn about State Voting Rights Acts, and whether your state has one or otherwise protects minority voting rights in redistricting.
What is a State Voting Rights Act (VRA)?
A State Voting Rights Act (VRA) is legislation passed at the state level that is intended to model the protections in the federal Voting Rights Act.
States with VRAs afford greater protections for minority voters, by creating an alternative path to seek remedies and/or by providing additional protections that are not outlined in the federal VRA.
In addition to VRAs, some states have prohibitions on racial or ethnic gerrymandering or otherwise protect minority rights in redistricting specifically.
Which States Protect Minority Voting Rights in Redistricting?
Over the past several months, we worked with volunteers through We The Action, a group dedicated to connecting lawyers with good causes. These volunteers researched 34 states to identify whether it had a Voting Rights Act or was considering one, and whether any other constitutional or statutory language contained language protecting minority voting rights in redistricting.
We are grateful to our volunteers for helping us create this resource!
Special thanks to Doug Spencer for reviewing this page. For more legal redistricting resources visit All About Redistricting
Protections for Minority Voting Rights in Redistricting by State
Use this table to see if your state has or is considering state level protections of minority voting rights. Underlined text in the table contains links to external sources of information.
This table was last updated on . If you see any information that is out of date, please email us.