VRA

E58946

VRA is the common abbreviation for the landmark U.S. federal law enacted in 1965 to prohibit racial discrimination in voting.

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Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf United States federal statute
voting rights law
alsoImplements Fourteenth Amendment
surface form: Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
amendedBy Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1970
Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1975
Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1982
Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006
appliesTo local jurisdictions in the United States
states of the United States
chamberInvolved United States House of Representatives
United States Senate
classifiedAs landmark civil rights legislation
commonAbbreviation VRA
constitutionalBasis Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
containsProvision Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act
Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act
Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act
Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act
country United States of America
enactedOn 1965-08-06
enforcedBy United States Department of Justice
federal judiciary of the United States
surface form: federal courts of the United States
fullName Voting Rights Act of 1965
hasLongTermEffect federal oversight of certain state and local election laws (before Shelby County v. Holder)
historicalContext American civil rights movement
surface form: Civil Rights Movement in the United States
impact increased voter registration and participation among racial minorities
invalidated many discriminatory voting laws and practices
introducedInResponseTo widespread disenfranchisement of Black voters in the American South
jurisdiction United States government
surface form: federal government of the United States
language English
passedBy United States Congress
presidentAtEnactment Lyndon B. Johnson
prohibits racial discrimination in voting
voting practices that deny or abridge the right to vote on account of race or color
purpose to enforce the Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
to prohibit racial discrimination in voting
region United States of America
surface form: United States
relatedCase Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee
Shelby County v. Holder
South Carolina v. Katzenbach
section2Description general prohibition on voting practices that discriminate on the basis of race or color
section5Description preclearance requirement for certain jurisdictions before changing voting laws or practices
shortTitle Voting Rights Act of 1965
signedBy Lyndon B. Johnson
sponsorChamber United States Senate
subjectArea civil rights
election law
voting rights
typeOfLegislation civil rights statute

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.