Voting Rights Act Amendments

Summary

Voting Rights Act Amendments - Title I: Revises the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by prohibiting States and political subdivisions from reinstituting voting eligibility tests for an additional ten years. Title II: Retains the requirement that no citizen shall be denied the right to vote in any Federal, State or local election because of his failure to comply with any test or device in any State with respect to which the determinations have been made as specified under this Act. Increases from five to ten years the determination period examined by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and the Attorney General in an action for declaratory judgement brought by a State against the United States under the provisions of the Voting Rights Act. Provides that no citizen of Spanish origin shall be denied the right under the fourteenth and fifteenth amendments to vote in any Federal, State, or local election because of his inability to read, write, understand, or interpret any matter in the English language. Defines "test or device" to include any practice or requirement by which any State or political subdivision provides any ballot, voting or registration notices, registration forms, or voting or registration instructions to voters only in the English language without providing printed translations of such ballots, voting or registration notices, registration forms, or voting or registration instructions in the Spanish language with respect to the Presidential election occurring in November 1972 or any election occurring after such Presidential election where the Director of the Census determines that more than 5 percent of the persons of voting age residing in such State or political subdivision are of Spanish origin. Title III: Provides that prior to August 6, 1985, no State or political subdivision shall provide ballots, voting or registration notices, registration forms, voting or registration instructions, or voting or registration assistance to voters in English only, if more than 5 percent of the persons of voting age of such State or political subdivision are of any single mother tongue other than English, as determined by the Director of the Census, based on the 1970 dicennial census, provided that the illiteracy rate in the English language of the members of the group residing in such State or political subdivision is equal to or more than the nationwide illiteracy rate in the English language.

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1 official file

• Introduced in House

  summary · EN · 26 March 1975

  Open at official source

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