What law was designed to reduce barriers to voting by ending poll taxes and literacy tests?

• A. Voting Rights Act of 1965
• B. Civil Rights Act of 1964
• C. Fair Housing Act
• D. Equal Rights Amendment

Answer: (A)

Efforts to remove voting barriers in the Civil Rights era centered on guaranteeing access to the ballot by outlawing discriminatory practices. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was designed to do exactly that: it prohibits racial discrimination in voting, bans literacy tests as a prerequisite to vote, and gives the federal government power to oversee elections in jurisdictions with a history of suppression. This direct focus on eliminating obstacles to voting makes it the best fit among the options. Poll taxes had already been addressed by constitutional amendments and later court actions, but the act’s enforcement provisions and its explicit ban on literacy tests uniquely align with the question. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 targets discrimination in public accommodations and employment, not voting barriers; the Fair Housing Act deals with housing discrimination; and the Equal Rights Amendment concerns gender equality in general law, not voting barriers.