Johnson signs Voting Rights Act banning literacy tests and mandating federal preclearance

President Lyndon Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act at the U.S. Capitol, flanked by civil rights leaders including Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks. The law outlaws literacy tests and other devices used to disenfranchise Black voters, establishes a coverage formula to identify historically discriminatory jurisdictions, and requires those jurisdictions to obtain federal "preclearance" before changing any voting law or procedure. Within months, 250,000 new Black voters are registered in the South.