Congress Renews Voting Rights Act of 1965

By a vote of 98-0, the U.S. Senate today completed Congress’ renewal of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 for an additional 25 years. The House voted 390-33 last week to renew the landmark civil rights-era Act, signed by President Lyndon Johnson on Aug. 6, 1965.

The Act placed a nationwide ban on discriminatory voter qualification requirements, such as poll taxes and literacy tests, used largely to prevent minorities from voting in southern states. Soon after passage of the Voting Rights Act, black voter registration began a sharp increase.

The measure extending the Voting Rights Act now goes to President Bush who has stated he will sign it into law.