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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