Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1970
E58949
The Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1970 were U.S. federal legislative changes that expanded and strengthened protections against racial discrimination in voting, including temporarily lowering the voting age to 18 in federal elections and extending key enforcement provisions of the original Voting Rights Act.
Statements (49)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
United States federal statute
ⓘ
voting rights legislation ⓘ |
| appliesToGroup |
18- to 20-year-old citizens in federal elections
ⓘ
racial and ethnic minority voters ⓘ |
| appliesToJurisdiction |
federal elections in the United States
ⓘ
state and local elections in certain covered jurisdictions ⓘ |
| constitutionalIssue | Congressional power to regulate state and federal election qualifications ⓘ |
| containsProvision |
adjustments to coverage formulas and enforcement mechanisms under the Voting Rights Act
ⓘ
authorization of federal examiners and observers in certain jurisdictions ⓘ extension of preclearance requirements for certain jurisdictions ⓘ extension of special enforcement provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 ⓘ lowering of the voting age to 18 in federal elections ⓘ temporary nationwide ban on literacy tests in elections ⓘ |
| country |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| effect |
extended federal oversight of jurisdictions with histories of voting discrimination
ⓘ
prohibited literacy tests nationwide for a specified period ⓘ strengthened enforcement mechanisms of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 ⓘ temporarily set the minimum voting age at 18 for federal elections ⓘ |
| enforcementMechanism |
federal examiners
ⓘ
federal observers ⓘ preclearance of changes to voting laws in covered jurisdictions ⓘ |
| extends |
Section 5 preclearance provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965
ⓘ
coverage and enforcement periods for certain jurisdictions with histories of discrimination ⓘ |
| follows | Voting Rights Act of 1965 ⓘ |
| historicalContext | civil rights movement era voting reforms ⓘ |
| influenced | Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution ⓘ |
| language | English ⓘ |
| legalDomain |
civil rights law
ⓘ
election law ⓘ |
| legislativeBody | United States Congress ⓘ |
| partOf |
Voting Rights Act of 1965
ⓘ
surface form:
Voting Rights Act of 1965 framework
|
| precedes | Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1975 ⓘ |
| purpose |
to expand the scope and duration of the Voting Rights Act of 1965
ⓘ
to lower the voting age in federal elections to 18 ⓘ to strengthen protections against racial discrimination in voting ⓘ |
| relatedCase | Oregon v. Mitchell ⓘ |
| relatedTo |
Civil Rights Act of 1964
ⓘ
Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1968 ⓘ Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1975 ⓘ |
| signedBy | Richard Nixon ⓘ |
| signingPresident | Richard Nixon ⓘ |
| subjectMatter |
federal oversight of elections
ⓘ
literacy tests ⓘ racial discrimination in voting ⓘ voting age ⓘ |
| targetsProblem |
age-based exclusion of 18- to 20-year-olds from federal elections
ⓘ
racial discrimination in voting ⓘ use of literacy tests as barriers to voting ⓘ |
| typeOfChange | amendment to existing civil rights statute ⓘ |
Referenced by (5)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.