What is the significance of the voting rights act

Some protesters were severely beaten and bloodied, and others ran for their lives. The incident was captured on national television.

In the wake of the shocking incident, Johnson called for comprehensive voting rights legislation. In a speech to a joint session of Congress on March 15, , the president outlined the devious ways in which election officials denied African American citizens the vote. Black people attempting to vote often were told by election officials that they had gotten the date, time or polling place wrong, that they possessed insufficient literacy skills or that they had filled out an application incorrectly.

Black people, whose population suffered a high rate of illiteracy due to centuries of oppression and poverty, often would be forced to take literacy tests, which they sometimes failed. In some cases, even Black people with college degrees were turned away from the polls.

The voting rights bill was passed in the U. Senate by a vote on May 26, After debating the bill for more than a month, the U. House of Representatives passed the bill by a vote of on July 9. The act banned the use of literacy tests, provided for federal oversight of voter registration in areas where less than 50 percent of the non-white population had not registered to vote, and authorized the U.

In , the 24th Amendment made poll taxes illegal in federal elections; poll taxes in state elections were banned in by the U. Supreme Court. Its gutting by the decision in Shelby County v. Holder in has led to more restrictive voting laws in at least 7 states. Section 4 b contained a coverage formula designed to encompass jurisdictions that were the most pervasively discriminatory and hold them liable to special provisions within the Voting Rights Act, to ensure that previously-barred minorities within those jurisdictions would be protected and able to practice their right to vote.

The coverage formula was always considered controversial because it singled out specific jurisdictions, most of which were in the Deep South. In Shelby County , the Supreme Court declared the coverage formula unconstitutional because the criteria used were outdated and thus violated principles of equal state sovereignty and federalism.

The other special provisions that were dependent on the coverage formula, such as the Section 5 pre-clearance requirement, remained valid law, but without a valid coverage formula these provisions became unenforceable.

The pre-clearance requirement meant that jurisdictions which fell under 4 b had to get federal approval to any changes they attempted to make in their election laws. Martin Luther King Jr. King quickly told reporters that he was heading to Selma to lead a second march. King also said he would seek restraining orders against Wallace and state police in federal court. The second march at Selma on March 9 was short and ceremonial, as civil rights leaders waited for legal support.

King led marchers over the Pettus Bridge and back to a church where the march began. Tragically, segregationists attacked three white ministers who took part in the march as they were eating dinner later that night, killing the Rev.

James Reeb. The right to vote was extended to white women in Provisions of the Voting Rights Act Originally, legislators hoped that within five years of its passage, the issues surrounding the Voting Rights Act would be resolved and there would be no further need for its enforcement-related provisions.

Enforcement measures included: Requirements for certain jurisdictions with a history of disenfranchising voters to obtain approval or "preclearance" from the U. Department of Justice or the U. They must prove that the proposed change does not denying or infringe on the right to vote on account of race or color.

Requirements for certain jurisdictions to provide language assistance to voters in communities where there is a concentration of citizens who do aren't proficient in English to actively participate in the electoral process. This provision was added to the Voting Rights Act in Federal election examiners and observers for certain jurisdictions where there is evidence of attempts to intimidate minority voters at the polls.