Voting Rights Act of 1965 Signed – Anniversary

Aug 6, 1965. Signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson, theVoting Rights Act of 1965 was designed to thwart attempts to discriminate against minorities at the polls. The act suspended literacy and other disqualifying tests, authorized appointment of federal voting examiners and provided for judicial relief on the federal level to bar discriminatory poll taxes. Congress voted to extend the act in 1975, 1984 and 1991.