HB2917 - Local Government Voting Rights Act

• Creates the Local Government Voting Rights Act to address vote dilution and discrimination in elections for local political subdivisions including counties, townships, cities, school districts, and special districts.

• Prohibits at-large or district-based election methods that impair the ability of protected racial, color, or language minority groups to elect candidates of their choice through dilution or abridgment of voting rights.

• Establishes that plaintiffs must prove racially-polarized voting exists to show a violation, does not require proof of discriminatory intent, and allows consideration of factors including history of discrimination, electoral devices, and effects of past discrimination in education and employment.

• Permits circuit courts to order remedies including adoption of single-member districts, alternative voting systems (cumulative voting, ranked-choice voting), increasing governing body size, or delaying elections to remedy violations.

• Allows prevailing plaintiffs to recover attorney's fees and litigation expenses from defendants, and requires political subdivisions to reimburse prospective plaintiffs within 45 days if they voluntarily change their election method in response to notice of intent to sue.