MALDEF has played a critical role in renewals of the landmark federal Voting Rights Act (VRA) and in the expansion of the Act to include bilingual services and protections for citizens with limited English proficiency. Initially passed in 1965, the VRA is designed to protect the rights of all citizens to have access to the democratic process and effectively elect their representatives of choice.
Voting Rights
MALDEF Files Lawsuit Challenging Prop 200
PHOENIX, AZ – Today, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) filed suit in federal court challenging the voter registration and identification provisions of Proposition 200. MALDEF filed the case on behalf of individual voters and voter registration applicants as well as the following organizations: Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, Valle del Sol, Friendly House, Chicanos Por La Causa and the Arizona Hispanic Community Forum.
MALDEF Argues Texas Redistricting Case Before Supreme Court
WASHINGTON, DC – The United States Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on the Texas Congressional redistricting case this Wednesday, March 1, 2006 at 1p.m. Nina Perales, MALDEF’s Southwestern Regional Counsel is one of two attorneys arguing against the Texas Congressional district map. MALDEF represents the American GI Forum of Texas.