Existing comment:
The Voting Rights Act of 1965
On March 15, 1965, President Lyndon Johnson addressed a point session of Congress to urge the passage of a voting rights bill in response to Martin Luther King, Jr.'s campaign in Selma, Alabama. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 provided direct federal enforcement to remove literacy tests and other devices that had been used to disenfranchise African Americans. It authorized the appointment of federal registrars to register voters and observe elections. It also prevented states from changing voting requirements and gerrymandering districts for a period of five years without federal review. The poll tax, a point of dispute, was fully banned in 1966. |