The change in Yakima County required a lawsuit invoking Washington’s 2018 Voting Rights Act. But now voters across Washington have a new tool that strengthens their voting rights and makes it easier for citizens and community groups to challenge discrimination in local elections.
The change also enabled the Wenatchee School Board to implement district-based voting before this fall’s election, a change being made preemptively because of concerns about voting rights violations.
House Bill 1048, sponsored by one of the new Latina members of the Washington Legislature, Rep. Sharlett Mena, D-Tacoma, is another boost for voting rights in Washington, both local and national advocates say.
“When a state passes a [voting
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