So far in this year’s legislative sessions, three states have introduced state voting rights acts. If the bills pass, Arizona, Colorado and Maryland will join the eight other states that already have VRAs: California, Connecticut, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Virginia and Washington.
California was the first state to pass a voting rights act in 2002, and Illinois followed in 2011. Legislative action on state VRAs picked up in the late 2010s—between 2018 and 2024, six states enacted them. These laws apply to local jurisdictions and commonly include extensive provisions for language assistance, preclearance by a state entity for any proposed voting procedure changes, protections against vote dilution, and guidelines for determining what is a violation of voting rights.
Many state VRAs are modeled after the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965. Among other things, the federal law prohibits race-based denial of the right to vote and protects the voting rights of people with disabilities or limited English proficiency. The VRA also plays an important role in redistricting.
Federal VRA litigation involves complex factors that are not written in the statute but have been interpreted by courts over time. Many state VRAs include these details in their statutory text instead of leaving it up to case law. For example, state VRAs commonly require evidence that voters are polarized along racial lines to prove the government has violated the law—a tenet adopted by decades of litigation in federal cases.
The program helps Black-owned businesses obtain borrow money when they can’t access traditional lending.
As part of his budget proposal for fiscal year 2025-26, Gov. Ron DeSantisplans to eliminate funding for the Black Business Loan Program.
His budget, called “Focus on Fiscal Responsibility,” calls for the cancellation of $2.225 million for the program, which provides loans for “Black business enterprises that cannot obtain capital through conventional lending institutions but that could otherwise compete successfully in the private sector,” according to Florida State Statute.
The program, last decade, had a record of controversy, including allegations of high rates of default, inadequate security for loans, and loans made improperly to ineligible people, including elected politicians and a convicted felon, according to reporting in the Florida Times Union of Jacksonville, theGainesville Sun and FloridaPolitics.com.
The budget cut falls under community development programs within Housing and Community Development. Overall, the department stands to be funded at $438 million under the Governor’s budget proposal, a little less than half its funding in the current budget year.
TALLAHASSEE — For the last six years, Gov. Ron DeSantis has been used to getting his way with the state Legislature, at times slashing the priorities of Republican leaders and calling them back to Tallahassee to pass bills that boost his political profile.
No more.
DeSantis now finds himself in a place he’s never been before: in a standoff with the state’s Republican House speaker and Senate president over his call for a special legislative session next week to change laws on immigration, voting and condominiums.
So far, DeSantis appears to be losing.
He’s taken to publicly shaming GOP lawmakers on X and on Fox News, accusing them of hypocrisy by not supporting President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda. On Tuesday, he sent a plea through the Republican Party of Florida’s email list asking voters to call their local lawmakers.
On Thursday, DeSantis held a news conference in Jacksonville to pressure lawmakers to act on immigration.
“Monday’s special session is a great opportunity for the members of the Florida Legislature to basically put their money where their mouth is,” DeSantis said.
TALLAHASSEE — For the last six years, Gov. Ron DeSantis has been used to getting his way with the state Legislature, at times slashing the priorities of Republican leaders and calling them back to Tallahassee to pass bills that boost his political profile.
No more.
DeSantis now finds himself in a place he’s never been before: in a standoff with the state’s Republican House speaker and Senate president over his call for a special legislative session next week to change laws on immigration, voting and condominiums.
So far, DeSantis appears to be losing.
He’s taken to publicly shaming GOP lawmakers on X and on Fox News, accusing them of hypocrisy by not supporting President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda. On Tuesday, he sent a plea through the Republican Party of Florida’s email list asking voters to call their local lawmakers.
On Thursday, DeSantis held a news conference in Jacksonville to pressure lawmakers to act on immigration.
“Monday’s special session is a great opportunity for the members of the Florida Legislature to basically put their money where their mouth is,” DeSantis said.