The Voting Rights Act refers to landmark legislation signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on August 6, 1965. It aimed to prohibit racial discrimination in voting practices and allowed federal oversight of elections.
Related terms
Jim Crow Laws: State and local laws enacted after Reconstruction that enforced racial segregation and denied voting rights to African Americans.
Literacy Tests: Unfair exams used as a requirement for voter registration with the intention of disenfranchising African Americans.
Shelby County v. Holder: A Supreme Court case in 2013 that significantly weakened the enforcement provisions of the Voting Rights Act.