Beginning on page 10, line 9, strike all of section 302 and insert the following:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 302.  "(1) A political subdivision is in violation of this act when:

(a) It is established by prima facie evidence that:

(i) The protected class is sufficiently large and geographically compact enough to constitute a majority in a single member voting district;

(ii) The protected class is politically cohesive; and

(iii) The majority votes sufficiently as a bloc to enable it to defeat the protected class' preferred candidate; and

(b) It is established that, by the totality of circumstances, the voters of the protected class have less opportunity than members of the majority group to participate in the political process and to elect representatives of their choice.

(2) In determining whether there is a violation of this act, the court shall analyze elections of the governing body of the political subdivision, ballot measure elections, elections in which at least one candidate is a member of a protected class, and other electoral choices that affect the rights and privileges of members of a protected class. Only elections conducted prior to the filing of an action pursuant to this chapter shall be used to establish or rebut the existence of a violation. In determining whether, by the totality of the circumstances, the voters of the protected class have less opportunity than members of the majority group to participate in the political process and to elect representatives of their choice, the court shall consider, at a minimum, the following factors:

(a) The history of voter-related discrimination in the political subdivision;

(b) The extent to which voting in elections of the political subdivision is racially polarized;

(c) The extent to which the political subdivision has used voting practices or procedures that tend to enhance the opportunity for discrimination against the minority group, such as unusually large election districts, majority voting requirements, and prohibitions against bullet voting;

(d) The exclusion of members of the protected class from the candidate slating process;

(e) The extent to which protected class members bear the effects of past discrimination in areas such as education, employment, and health, which hinder their ability to participate effectively in the political process;

(f) The use of overt or subtle racial appeals in political campaigns;

(g) The extent to which members of the protected class have been elected to public office in the political subdivision; and

(h) Whether there is a significant lack of responsiveness on the part of elected officials to the particularized needs of the members of the protected class.

(3) In determining whether there is a violation of this act, the court shall analyze elections of the governing body of the political subdivision, ballot measure elections, elections in which at least one candidate is a member of a protected class, and other electoral choices that affect the rights and privileges of members of a protected class. The court shall also consider whether the proportion of elected officials serving on the political subdivision's legislative body who are members of the protected class is equivalent to the proportion of the population who are members of the protected class. Only elections conducted prior to the filing of an action pursuant to this chapter shall be used to establish or rebut the existence of a violation.

(4) The election of candidates who are members of a protected class and who were elected prior to the filing of an action pursuant to this chapter shall not preclude a finding of a violation of this act."

EFFECT: Aligns the criteria to demonstrate a violation under this act with those under federal voting rights act of 1965 case law.