Joaquin Avila (lawyer), Date of Birth, Date of Death
TweetJoaquin Avila (lawyer)
American lawyer, voting rights advocate
Date of Birth: 23-Jun-1948
Date of Death: 09-Mar-2018
Profession: lawyer
Nationality: United States
Zodiac Sign: Cancer 
About Joaquin Avila (lawyer)
- Joaquin Guadalupe Avila (June 23, 1948 – March 9, 2018) was an American voting rights attorney and activist.
- Avila spent more than two decades using the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 to increase election fairness for minority voters.
- But as several court precedents weakened the federal Voting Rights Act, Avila conceived of state voting rights acts as a way to again strengthen minority voting rights.
- Thus Avila crafted the California Voting Rights Act that was enacted in 2001.
- Avila brought lawsuits that set important voting rights precedents.
- He also served as president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and directed the National Voting Rights Advocacy Initiative at Seattle University School of Law.
- Among the many honors he received recognizing his work, he was awarded a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 1996.
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