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How did the Voting Rights Act of 1965 protect voting rights?
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Legislation
Former U.S. president Harry S. Truman (right) looking on as U.S. Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Medicare bill at the Harry S. Truman Library and Museum in Independence, Missouri, July 30, 1965.
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was landmark legislation designed to dismantle systemic legal barriers that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote, as guaranteed by the Fifteenth Amendment.12
The act protected voting rights through several key mechanisms:
- Banning Discriminatory Tests: It suspended the use of literacy tests and other discriminatory devices that had been used to disenfranchise minority voters.324
- Federal Oversight: It authorized federal supervision of voter registration to ensure fairness.4
- Preclearance Requirement: Under Sections 4 and 5, jurisdictions with a history of voter discrimination were required to obtain federal approval—or "preclearance"—before implementing any changes to their electoral laws or procedures. This ensured that new regulations would not have the purpose or effect of denying or abridging the right to vote based on race or color.325
- Poll Tax Challenges: The act directed the U.S. attorney general to challenge the use of poll taxes in state and local elections.2