LCO No. 2456 1 of 2
General Assembly Proposed Bill No. 820
January Session, 2021
LCO No. 2456
Referred to Committee on GOVERNMENT ADMINISTRATION
AND ELECTIONS
Introduced by:
SEN. LESSER, 9th Dist.
AN ACT CONCERNING A STATE VOTING RIGHTS ACT.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
That title 9 of the general statutes be amended to (1) establish state 1
rights of action against (A) barriers to equal participation in an electoral 2
system, (B) vote dilution, and (C) racial gerrymandering, (2) allow 3
voters and jurisdictions to collaboratively develop remedies to potential 4
violations before resorting to costly litigation, (3) lower the threshold of 5
elements necessary for plaintiffs to prove a claim of vote dilution, 6
including not requiring a demonstration of racial segregation, (4) allow 7
courts that find violations to tailor remedies to effectively address future 8
potential violations, as well as accept and order remedies proposed by 9
plaintiffs rather than permitting defendant jurisdictions to craft their 10
own remedies, (5) require jurisdictions to publish in easily accessible 11
formats any changes to their electoral systems, and (6) prior to making 12
any such changes, require jurisdictions previously found in violation to 13
seek preclearance from the Superior Court for such changes. 14 Proposed Bill No. 820
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Statement of Purpose:
To implement several changes at the state level designed to fill gaps in
the federal Voting Rights Act.