The Voting Rights Act of 1965 primarily addressed:

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The systematic disenfranchisement of African American voters through literacy tests, poll taxes, and other discriminatory practices. The Voting Rights Act, signed by President Johnson on August 6, 1965, was the most effective piece of civil rights legislation in American history. It outlawed the discriminatory voting practices that Southern states had used for decades to prevent African Americans from voting, including literacy tests, understanding clauses, and good character requirements. Section 5 required states with histories of discrimination to obtain federal "preclearance" before changing their voting laws. The Act was prompted by the brutal violence against voting rights marchers in Selma, Alabama, on "Bloody Sunday" (March 7, 1965), which was broadcast on national television.

The 24th Amendment ("The elimination of the poll tax through a constitutional..."), ratified in 1964, prohibited poll taxes in federal elections, but the Voting Rights Act went much further by addressing the full range of discriminatory practices and providing federal enforcement mechanisms. The voting age ("The extension of voting rights to eighteen-year-old...") was lowered to 18 by the 26th Amendment in 1971, a separate measure prompted by the Vietnam War. Term limits for Congress ("The establishment of term limits for members of Congress to...") have never been established at the federal level.

The Voting Rights Act produced dramatic results. Within months, hundreds of thousands of Black voters registered across the South. Black voter registration in Mississippi jumped from 6.7% to 59.8% within a few years. The Act led to the election of Black officials at all levels of government in the South for the first time since Reconstruction. In 2013, the Supreme Court in Shelby County v. Holder struck down the formula used for determining which jurisdictions needed preclearance, significantly weakening the Act's enforcement mechanism and sparking renewed debates about voter suppression.

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