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Court Filings & Opinions Democracy & Voting Rights

UCLA VRP Challenge to Discriminatory Signature Matching in Yakima, Benton, and Chelan Counties, Washington

Thousands of Latino voters have had their votes disproportionally affected due to the State’s ballot signature matching provisions and processes. By rejecting ballots based off the race of a voter, Washington is violating voting rights such as the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendment.


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Overview: 

In having Washington’s ballot signature matching, Latino voters are having their ballots rejected at a much higher rate than their non-Latino counterparts. In 2020, Latinos were three times more likely than Anglo voters to have their ballots rejected due to their perceived mismatched signature. Additionally, ballots that had Spanish surnames were on average more likely to have their ballots rejected because of signature mismatch too. Overall, Latinos and other racial minorities were being denied their fundamental right to vote due to discriminatory practices.