Eisenhower signs Civil Rights Act strengthening voting records enforcement

President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs the Civil Rights Act of 1960 on May 6, 1960. The law creates federal inspection procedures for local voter registration records and adds penalties for obstructing federal court orders. The law responds to continuing resistance to Black voting rights and school desegregation. Like the 1957 law, it is narrower than civil rights advocates wanted, but it expands federal enforcement tools. Congress continues rebuilding federal civil rights authority before the larger breakthroughs of 1964 and 1965.