Voting Rights Act of 1965

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark U.S. federal statute that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by PresidentLyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights movement on August 6, 1965. Congress later amended the act five times to expand its protections. Designed to enforce voting rights protected by the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, the act sought to secure the right to vote for racial minorities throughout the country, especially in the South. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the act is considered to be the most effective piece of federal civil rights legislation ever enacted. The National Archives and Records Administration stated: "The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was the most significant statutory change in the relationship between the federal and state governments in the area of voting since the Reconstruction period after the Civil War".

The act contains numerous provisions that regulate elections. Its "general provisions" provide nationwide protections for voting rights. Section 2 prohibits state and local government from imposing rules that restrict the right of citizens to vote on account of race, color or membership in a language minority group. Other provisions outlaw literacy tests and similar devices that were historically used to disenfranchise racial minorities. The act also contains "special provisions" that apply to jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination in voting, such as the Section 5 preclearance requirement, which prohibits those jurisdictions from implementing any change affecting voting without first receiving confirmation from the U.S. attorney general or the U.S. District Court for D.C. that the change does not discriminate against protected minorities.

The Roberts Court has substantially weakened the Voting Rights Act in a series of rulings. In Shelby County v. Holder (2013), the court nullified preclearance for states with a history of racial discrimination in voting, reasoning that it was obsolete. The jurisdictions which had previously been covered by preclearance subsequently enacted cuts to early voting, purges of voter rolls, and imposition of strict voter ID laws, leading to substantial decreases in African American voter turnout. In Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee (2021), the court substantially weakened Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. In Louisiana v. Callais (2026), the court again significantly weakened Section 2, increasing the requirements for vote dilution claims and stating that said claims must be decoupled from permissible partisan gerrymandering, per the court's decision in Rucho v. Common Cause. In her dissent, Justice Kagan referred to the decision as the "now-completed demolition of the Voting Rights Act."

Research showed that the act had successfully and massively increased voter turnout and voter registrations, in particular among Black people. The act has also been linked to concrete outcomes, such as greater public goods provision (such as public education) for areas with higher Black population shares, more members of Congress who vote for civil rights-related legislation, and greater Black representation in local offices.