Voting Rights Act of 1965

Cultural  

1. A law passed at the time of the civil rights movement. It eliminated various devices, such as literacy tests, that had traditionally been used to restrict voting by black people. It authorized the enrollment of voters by federal registrars in states where fewer than fifty percent of the eligible voters were registered or voted. All such states were in the South.

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Example Sentences

The fruit of that sacrifice was the historic Voting Rights Act of 1965.

From Slate • May 22, 2026

His advocacy work also paved the way for the creation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

From Barron's • Jan. 19, 2026

Callais, a case that concerns the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 14, 2025

As to the Voting Rights Act of 1965, I think, if anything, the history of the suffragist movement shows that you can make alliances with people, but you do not compromise on basic human rights.

From Salon • Apr. 4, 2025

After more than four months of debate, both the House of Representatives and the Senate voted by overwhelming margins to approve the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

From "Because They Marched" by Russell Freedman