Reagan signs VRA 25-year reauthorization extending preclearance and adding results test to Section 2

President Reagan signs a 25-year reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act, extending the Section 5 preclearance requirement to 2007 and amending Section 2 to establish a "results test", allowing plaintiffs to challenge voting laws that result in discrimination even without proving discriminatory intent. The results test responds to a 1980 Supreme Court ruling (Mobile v. Bolden) that had required proof of intentional discrimination. The reauthorization passes Congress with strong bipartisan majorities.