by Linda T. Wynn, Assistant Director for ‘Tenn. state programs’

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was the culmination of a long struggle over enfranchisement in the United States. Since the nation’s founding, voting rights were restricted to a small group (initially White male landowners) and both African Americans and women were excluded from political participation.

Tennessee’s 1796 constitution allowed all free men meeting property and residency requirements to vote, including a small number of free Black men. However, the state’s 1835 constitution removed voting rights for African Americans, imposed a poll tax, and upheld enslavement. African American men did not regain the vote until after the Civil War.

In 1866, Tennessee passed laws granting African Americans rights to contract, own property, and receive legal protections, but not the right to vote. That same year, Black leaders organized the second State Colored Men’s Convention in Nashville, holding daily marches for voting rights. Gov. William G. Brownlow, seeking political support, pushed for legislation granting African American men the vote, which passed in 1867—three years before the ratification of the 15^th Amendment. Tennessee refused to ratify the amendment until 1997.

Nationally, the Reconstruction Amendments reshaped citizenship and voting rights: the 13^th abolished slavery, the 14^th granted citizenship, and the 15^th prohibited racial discrimination in voting. Women did not gain the right to vote until the 19^th Amendment in 1920, with Tennessee casting the decisive ratification vote.

Despite these constitutional protections, African Americans faced systematic disenfranchisement through Jim Crow laws, literacy tests, poll taxes, and other barriers. Key Supreme Court decisions addressed voting rights:

• United States v. Reese (1876) weakened enforcement of the 15^th Amendment, emboldening discriminatory laws.
• Guinn v. United States (1915) struck down Oklahoma’s ‘grandfather clause,’ which exempted some from literacy tests based on voting rights prior to 1866.
• Smith v. Allwright (1944), argued by Thurgood Marshall, ended White-only primaries in Texas, expanding African American political participation.

The modern civil rights movement pushed voting rights to the forefront. The 24^th Amendment (1964) abolished poll taxes in federal elections. Yet in the South, African Americans still faced intimidation, violence, and discriminatory registration practices.

In 1964–65, protests led by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) highlighted these injustices. Events in Selma, Alabama (where marchers were attacked by state troopers) along with the murders of voting rights activists James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner, gained national attention. Public outrage and President Lyndon B. Johnson’s political efforts led to the passage of the Voting Rights Act on August 5, 1965.

The Act prohibited racial discrimination in voting and required certain states and localities with histories of discrimination to obtain federal approval before changing voting laws (preclearance). It also authorized federal oversight of voter registration in areas where tests had been used to disenfranchise voters.

However, recent years have seen challenges to the Act. In Shelby County v. Holder (2013), the Supreme Court struck down the formula determining which jurisdictions required preclearance, effectively ending that provision. In Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee (2021), the Court made it harder to challenge voting rules under Section 2 of the Act.

In a significant win for voting rights, Allen v. Milligan (2023) reaffirmed Section 2 protections, ruling that Alabama’s congressional map diluted Black voting power.

Over the centuries, amendments to the Constitution have expanded voting rights: the 15^th (1870) for African American men, the 19^th (1920) for women, the 24^th (1964) eliminating poll taxes, and the 26^th (1971) lowering the voting age to 18. Yet the Voting Rights Act remains a pivotal safeguard, and 60 years after its passage, debates continue over how best to protect and ensure equal access to the ballot.

Key moments in U.S. voting rights history

•    1787 – U.S. Constitution drafted; voting rights left largely to the states.

•    1796 – Tennessee Constitution grants voting rights to free men (including some African Americans) with property.

•    1835 – Tennessee removes African American voting rights, institutes poll tax.

•    1865–1870 – Reconstruction Amendments:

o   13^th (1865) abolishes slavery.

o   14^th (1868) grants citizenship.

o   15^th (1870) prohibits racial discrimination in voting.

•    1920 – 19^th Amendment grants women the right to vote; Tennessee is decisive ratifying state.

•    1944 – Smith v. Allwright ends White-only primaries.

•    1964 – 24^th Amendment bans poll tax in federal elections.

•    1965 – Voting Rights Act prohibits racial discrimination in voting; introduces federal oversight in certain states.

•    2013 – Shelby County v. Holder strikes down preclearance formula.

•    2021 – Brnovich v. DNC makes challenging voting restrictions under Section 2 more difficult.

•    2023 – Allen v. Milligan upholds Section 2 protections, rules Alabama diluted Black voting power.