Agda Pkt 2026.07.27 Joint SA PFA

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1127 11TH STREET, SUITE 300, SACRAMENTO, CA 95814 • 916.974.9270 • PUBLICPOLICYGROUP.COM PAGE 3 • Secs. 6-7 (replace 14028). Directs that all voting-related enactments be construed liberally by state courts in favor of the right to vote. The July 2 amendments pared this section back to that liberal-construction command; the broader language directing courts to exercise discretion over discovery, evidence, and procedure has not been carried into this section of the current print. • Secs. 8-9 (replace 14029). Standing for the Attorney General, any aggrieved individual, and any entity whose membership includes aggrieved individuals or whose mission would be frustrated, with no member disclosure required. Expedited proceedings with automatic calendar preference, and venue may lie in Sacramento. A party may seek a preliminary injunction affecting an upcoming election at any time. Courts must order complete relief notwithstanding any other law, owe no deference to the jurisdiction's proposed remedy, may draw on remedies available in any other jurisdiction (including share-based systems and added council seats), and may modify the election calendar. One-way fee shifting; laches barred; notice-letter fee recovery capped at $25,000 plus $50,000. State-law-only declaration to defeat removal to federal court (14029(f)). – July 2 change worth noting: the broad bar on asserting legislative, executive, and deliberative privilege that appeared in the earlier version has been removed. The current 14029(k) instead preserves legislative-deliberation protections under Article I, Section 3(b)(6) of the California Constitution, and the earlier “mandatory preliminary relief” standard has been dropped. • Secs. 10-11 (replace 14030). California preclearance, unchanged in substance. A jurisdiction with a court-approved settlement admitting liability, or a judicial finding of violation, of specified voting-rights laws within the previous 10 years must obtain Attorney General preapproval before adopting a covered practice: a new or modified method of election (including districting changes or post-census map maintenance), an annexation or deannexation, or a reduction in language assistance. The AG must build the process, publish covered jurisdictions annually, and host public comment. Preapproval denials are appealable only by the jurisdiction; grants are challengeable de novo by any plaintiff and are inadmissible in later litigation. • Secs. 12-17 (repeal 14032; add 14033 and 14034; add Article 1.5; amend 21130; mandates). Repeals the old fee provision (recast in 14029). New Section 14033 (anti-reversion) provides that a jurisdiction that changed its method of election by court order, settlement, judgment, or by a resolution or ordinance under the 2001 or 2026 Act may not revert to a prior method without a superior court order finding no retrogression, completion of the full 10010 process, and voter approval. New Section 14034 declares the chapter a matter of statewide concern applicable to charter cities. New Article 1.5 (19219.5-19219.7) requires the Secretary of State to certify voting systems for remedial methods of election such as share-based systems, with a December 31, 2028 deadline. Section 21130 (FAIR MAPS) is amended to require districting bodies to comply with the CVRA of 2026, publish any racially-polarized-voting analysis, follow ranked criteria, avoid partisan data, and issue a report within 21 days, and to reallocate incarcerated persons for population equality. 7.D. - Page 9 of 17 297