Files
2026-07-06 17:28:36 -04:00

92 lines
7.1 KiB
Markdown
Raw Permalink Blame History

This file contains ambiguous Unicode characters
This file contains Unicode characters that might be confused with other characters. If you think that this is intentional, you can safely ignore this warning. Use the Escape button to reveal them.
---
type: "Bill"
title: "District-based elections."
description: "The California Voting Rights Act of 2001 (CVRA) prohibits the use of an at-large election in a political subdivision if it would impair the ability of a protected class, as defined, to elect candidates of its choice or otherwise influence the outcome of an election. The CVRA permits a voter who is a member of a protected class to bring an action in superior court to enforce the provisions of the CVRA. Before commencing an action, existing law requires a prospective plaintiff to send a written notice to the political subdivision asserting that the political subdivision's method of conducting elections may violate the CVRA. If the political subdivision passes a resolution outlining its intention to transition to district-based elections within a specified time, existing law prohibits the prospective plaintiff from commencing an action within 90 days of the resolution's passage."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ca"
legislature: "California Legislature"
session: "20172018"
identifier: "AB 2123"
citation: "California AB 2123 (20172018)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["District-based elections."]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Cervantes"]
version_count: 7
action_count: 24
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2018-02-08"
last_action: "2018-09-06"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/a14b729c-b49c-43cb-b218-24b7849133c3"
source_url: "http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB2123"
source_hash: "7bbbed23c3165972851ac8f5746b3a920100e993be8f9f4bff3444b209de2eeb"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ca"]
---
# California AB 2123 (20172018) — District-based elections.
The California Voting Rights Act of 2001 (CVRA) prohibits the use of an at-large election in a political subdivision if it would impair the ability of a protected class, as defined, to elect candidates of its choice or otherwise influence the outcome of an election. The CVRA permits a voter who is a member of a protected class to bring an action in superior court to enforce the provisions of the CVRA. Before commencing an action, existing law requires a prospective plaintiff to send a written notice to the political subdivision asserting that the political subdivision's method of conducting elections may violate the CVRA. If the political subdivision passes a resolution outlining its intention to transition to district-based elections within a specified time, existing law prohibits the prospective plaintiff from commencing an action within 90 days of the resolution's passage.
## Version chain
The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.
1. **02/08/18 - Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB2123&version=20170AB212399INT)
2. **03/20/18 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB2123&version=20170AB212398AMD)
3. **04/02/18 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB2123&version=20170AB212397AMD)
4. **04/17/18 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB2123&version=20170AB212396AMD)
5. **09/06/18 - Chaptered** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB2123&version=20170AB212394CHP)
6. **AB2123** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB2123)
7. **08/22/18 - Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB2123&version=20170AB212395ENR)
## Votes
- AB 2123 CERVANTES Assembly Third Reading — **603** (pass) · lower
- Do pass — **61** (pass) · upper
- Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on [Judiciary] — **61** (pass) · lower
- Do pass. — **91** (pass) · lower
- 3rd Reading AB2123 Cervantes By Cannella — **380** (pass) · upper
- Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Judiciary] — **50** (pass) · upper
## Sponsors
- Cervantes — primary (person)
## Timeline
The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.
- **2018-02-08** Read first time. To print. `reading-1`
- **2018-02-09** From printer. May be heard in committee March 11.
- **2018-03-19** Referred to Coms. on E. & R. and JUD. `referral-committee`
- **2018-03-20** From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on E. & R. Read second time and amended. `amendment-introduction, amendment-passage, reading-2, reading-1`
- **2018-03-21** Re-referred to Com. on E. & R. `referral-committee`
- **2018-04-02** From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to Com. on E. & R. Read second time and amended. `amendment-introduction, amendment-passage, reading-2, reading-1`
- **2018-04-03** Re-referred to Com. on E. & R. `referral-committee`
- **2018-04-16** From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 6. Noes 1.) (April 11). `amendment-passage, committee-passage, amendment-introduction`
- **2018-04-17** Read second time and amended. `reading-1, amendment-passage, reading-2`
- **2018-04-18** Re-referred to Com. on JUD. `referral-committee`
- **2018-05-01** In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author.
- **2018-05-08** From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 9. Noes 1.) (May 8). `committee-passage-favorable, committee-passage`
- **2018-05-09** Read second time. Ordered to third reading. `reading-2, reading-1`
- **2018-05-10** Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 60. Noes 3. Page 5128.) `reading-3, passage, reading-1`
- **2018-05-10** In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. `reading-1`
- **2018-05-24** Referred to Coms. on E. & C.A. and JUD. `referral-committee`
- **2018-06-20** From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on JUD. (Ayes 5. Noes 0.) (June 19). Re-referred to Com. on JUD. `committee-passage-favorable, committee-passage, referral-committee`
- **2018-07-03** From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 6. Noes 1.) (July 3). `committee-passage-favorable, committee-passage`
- **2018-07-05** Read second time. Ordered to third reading. `reading-2, reading-1`
- **2018-08-20** Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Assembly. (Ayes 38. Noes 0. Page 5438.). `reading-3, passage, reading-1`
- **2018-08-20** In Assembly. Ordered to Engrossing and Enrolling. `committee-passage`
- **2018-08-24** Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4:30 p.m.
- **2018-09-06** Approved by the Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2018-09-06** Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 277, Statutes of 2018.
## Source
OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/a14b729c-b49c-43cb-b218-24b7849133c3`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official California legislature records).