On what date did President Lyndon B. Johnson sign the Voting Rights Act of 1965?

President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965 on August 6, 1965.

The law targeted racial discrimination in voting, especially practices that had blocked Black citizens from registering and voting in parts of the United States. It banned literacy tests and authorized federal oversight of voter registration and elections in jurisdictions with histories of discrimination.

Johnson signed the act at the U.S. Capitol while civil-rights leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks, attended. The legislation followed the Selma voting-rights campaign and the national reaction to the March 7, 1965, attack on marchers known as Bloody Sunday.

The act is distinct from the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which primarily addressed segregation and discrimination in public accommodations, employment, and other areas. The Voting Rights Act focused specifically on access to the ballot.