the Voting Rights Act of 1965
🔊/ðə ˌvəʊtɪŋ raɪts ækt əv ˌnaɪntiːn ˌsɪksti ˈfaɪv/
🔊/ðə ˌvəʊtɪŋ raɪts ækt əv ˌnaɪntiːn ˌsɪksti ˈfaɪv/
a US law passed during the civil rights movement, signed by President Lyndon B Johnson. It made illegal a number of restrictions that had been used, mostly in the South, to keep African Americans from voting. These restrictions included a test of people's ability to read and write.