What did the Voting Rights Act of 1965 accomplish?

The Voting Rights Act of 1965 significantly advanced civil rights by prohibiting racial discrimination in voting. This landmark legislation aimed to eliminate systemic barriers that prevented African Americans and other minority groups from exercising their right to vote. Prior to its passage, many states employed practices such as literacy tests, poll taxes, and other discriminatory measures intended to suppress minority voter registration and turnout. By outlawing these practices, the Act ensured greater access to the electoral process and aimed to enforce the voting rights guaranteed by the 14th and 15th Amendments of the Constitution. The Act marked a crucial step in the broader civil rights movement, affirming that voting is a fundamental right without regard to race or color.

The other options, while related to voting rights, do not accurately describe the primary accomplishment of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Act did not specifically provide women the right to vote, as that had been established earlier with the 19th Amendment. Although national voting standards can be indirectly linked to the Act's goals, the primary focus was on combating racial discrimination in voting practices. The question of lowering the voting age to 18 was addressed later with the 26th Amendment in 1971, making it unrelated to this particular legislation.