Voting Rights Act of 1965

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is an important law in the United States that stopped unfair treatment based on race when people wanted to vote. It was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson on August 6, 1965, during a time when many people were working hard to make sure everyone could vote equally. This law helped protect the voting rights that are guaranteed by the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution. It was especially important for racial minorities in the South, who had faced many obstacles to voting.

The law had several important parts. One part stopped states and local governments from making rules that made it harder for people to vote because of their race or because they belonged to a group that spoke a different language. It also ended unfair tests, like literacy tests, that were used to prevent many people from voting. For places that had a history of unfair voting practices, the law required them to get approval before changing any voting rules.

Over time, some court decisions have changed parts of this law. But studies showed that it helped many more people, especially Black people, to register to vote and actually cast their votes. This law made a big difference in many areas, helping to ensure that more people could have a say in how their country was run.

Background

Further information: Disenfranchisement after the Reconstruction era

The United States Constitution originally let each state decide who could vote. After the Civil War, three important changes were made. These changes said that everyone, no matter their race, should have equal rights and the right to vote. However, many Southern states found ways to stop African Americans from voting. They used rules like tests to see if people could read or write, or required people to pay money to vote.

In the 1950s, many people worked hard to protect voting rights. Some laws were passed to help, but they were not strong enough. Many African Americans were still not allowed to vote. In 1964, a new law was passed to help stop unfair voting rules, but it did not fix all the problems. Because of this, many people, including leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., held peaceful protests to ask for better laws. These protests sometimes led to violence, which drew attention to the need for change. Finally, in 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson helped create a new law to protect voting rights for everyone.

Legislative history

Efforts to change unfair voting rules by taking each case to court had not worked well. Existing laws were not strong enough to overcome resistance from some state leaders. Because of this, Congress decided a new, strong federal law was needed to help make sure everyone could vote fairly.

The Supreme Court later explained that Congress had the right to pass the Voting Rights Act of 1965 under its powers coming from the Fifteenth Amendment. The Act included special rules that applied only to certain states and areas where voting discrimination was known to happen. These rules included needing approval before changing voting laws and stopping unfair tests like literacy tests.

Original bill

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was introduced in Congress on March 17, 1965. It was sponsored by Senate leaders Mike Mansfield and Everett Dirksen. They worked with Attorney General Katzenbach to write the bill. The bill included special rules for certain states and local areas. These rules included needing approval before changing voting procedures and stopping unfair tests like literacy tests.

The bill went through debates and votes in the Senate and the House of Representatives. It faced opposition from some Southern leaders who thought it was unfair. But with support from many, the bill passed both chambers of Congress. On August 6, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law.

Amendments

Congress made major changes to the Act in 1970, 1975, 1982, 1992, and 2006. Each change happened when some parts of the Act were set to end. Congress kept extending these special rules because voting discrimination continued to happen. The changes also expanded who was protected under the Act, including language minorities.

Congress also made changes in response to court decisions. For example, in 1982, Congress changed the Act to ban voting practices that had a harmful effect on minority voters, even if there was no intention to discriminate. These changes helped strengthen the protections for all voters.

Legislative breakdown

The Senate voted on the Voting Rights Act on May 26, 1965. Many senators from both the Republican and Democratic parties supported it.

Then, the House of Representatives voted on the bill on July 9, 1965. Again, many members from both parties voted in favor of the bill.

Provisions

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a key law in the United States that stops unfair treatment in voting based on race. It was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965 during a time when many people were working for equal rights.

The law has two main parts: general rules that apply to everyone and special rules for certain areas that used to make it harder for some people to vote. These special rules help protect the voting rights of people from different racial and language backgrounds. The law has been changed several times to make sure everyone has a fair chance to vote.

Impact

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 made a big change right away. By the end of 1965, over 250,000 new Black voters joined the rolls, with one-third helped by federal examiners. By 1966, most Southern states had more than half of African Americans registered to vote. This law helped stop unfair voting rules and made it easier for many people of color to vote.

Because of this law, more African Americans were elected to offices. From 1965 to 1985, the number of Black state legislators in the Southern states grew from just 3 to 176. Across the nation, the number of Black elected officials rose from about 1,500 in 1970 to nearly 5,000 in 1980 and around 10,500 by 2011. The law also helped people who spoke different languages, like Spanish or Asian languages, to register to vote.

The Voting Rights Act also changed the political landscape. Before the law, many Southern states had fewer Black voters, which helped one political party stay in power. After the law, more Black voters joined, pushing changes in how parties acted. This led to both major political parties becoming more different in their ideas and fighting harder for votes in Southern states. Studies show the Act helped more people vote, especially minorities, and brought better public services to areas with more Black residents.

Constitutionality

Voter eligibility provisions

The Supreme Court looked at whether the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was allowed under the U.S. Constitution. In 1966, the Court decided that the Act was a good way to enforce the Fifteenth Amendment, which says everyone should be allowed to vote no matter their race. The Court also said that some rules about literacy tests were okay, especially for people who went to school in places where the main language was Spanish, like Puerto Rico.

Later, in 1970, the Court agreed that banning all literacy tests was allowed. The Court also said it was okay to let people vote in presidential elections if they had lived in a state for at least 30 days, and to let people as young as 18 vote in federal elections. But the Court decided that Congress went too far when it tried to make people 18 vote in state elections too. This led to a change in the Constitution the next year, letting 18-year-olds vote in all elections.

Section 2 results test

The Supreme Court has not fully explained whether part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, called section 2, is allowed under the Constitution. Section 2 stops any voting rules that unfairly hurt certain groups, even if those rules were not made on purpose to be unfair. This is different from the Constitution, which only stops purposeful unfairness. It is still not clear if the Supreme Court would say this part of the law is allowed.

In 1984, the Supreme Court agreed with a lower court that said this part of the law was okay. But some judges thought more discussion was needed. Later, lower courts have agreed that this part of the law is allowed.

Coverage formula and preclearance

The Supreme Court has said that another part of the Voting Rights Act, called Section 5, is allowed. This part says some places need to get approval before changing their voting rules. The Court said this was okay because there was a lot of unfairness in voting before, and waiting for courts to fix each problem would take too long.

The Court again said Section 5 was okay in 1980, saying Congress had the right to stop unintentional unfairness too, to prevent places from trying to be unfair later. The Court also said it was okay to keep needing approval for a while, because unfairness was still happening.

In 1999, the Court said it was okay to need approval even for smaller local governments if their bigger state needed to get approval.

In 2013, the Supreme Court said a rule used to decide which places needed to get approval was outdated, because it was based on things that happened 40 years ago. This means places that used to need approval might not need to anymore unless Congress makes a new rule. After this decision, some places made new voting rules that used to need approval.

Racial gerrymandering

Main article: Gerrymandering in the United States: Affirmative racial gerrymandering

The Supreme Court has said that drawing voting districts in ways that unfairly hurt certain groups can be stopped. But the Court has also said that drawing districts to help certain groups can be wrong too, if race was the main reason for how the districts were drawn. If this happens, the way districts were drawn will only be allowed if it is really needed for an important reason.

Standing

The rules about who can challenge voting maps under the Voting Rights Act were questioned in a 2023 case. A court decided that only the United States Attorney General can bring these challenges, not groups or voters, which could change many current challenges to voting maps.