Introduction To Federal Voting Rights Laws
The Effect of the Voting Rights Act
Soon after passage of the Voting Rights Act, federal examiners were conducting voter
registration, and black voter registration began a sharp increase. The cumulative effect of
the Supreme Court's decisions, Congress' enactment of voting rights legislation, and the
ongoing efforts of concerned private citizens and the Department of Justice, has been to
restore the right to vote guaranteed by the 14th and 15th Amendments. The Voting Rights
Act itself has been called the single most effective piece of civil rights legislation ever
passed by Congress.
The following table compares black voter registration rates with white voter registration
rates in seven Southern States in 1965 and 1988:
Voter Registration Rates (1965 vs. 1988)
| |
March 1965 |
November 1988 |
| Black |
White |
Gap |
Black |
White |
Gap |
| Alabama |
19.3 |
69.2 |
49.9 |
68.4 |
75.0 |
6.6 |
| Georgia |
27.4 |
62.6 |
35.2 |
56.8 |
63.9 |
7.1 |
| Louisiana |
31.6 |
80.5 |
48.9 |
77.1 |
75.1 |
-2.0 |
| Mississippi |
6.7 |
69.9 |
63.2 |
74.2 |
80.5 |
6.3 |
| North Carolina |
46.8 |
96.8 |
50.0 |
58.2 |
65.6 |
7.4 |
| South Carolina |
37.3 |
75.7 |
38.4 |
56.7 |
61.8 |
5.1 |
| Virginia |
38.3 |
61.1 |
22.8 |
63.8 |
68.5 |
4.7 |
Adapted from Bernard Grofman, Lisa Handley and Richard G. Niemi. 1992.
Minority Representation and the Quest for Voting Equality. New York: Cambridge Press, at 23-24/
Last Revised - March 28, 2005
Updated July 25, 2008
