1994 US Code
Title 42 - THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
CHAPTER 20 - ELECTIVE FRANCHISE
SUBCHAPTER I-A - ENFORCEMENT OF VOTING RIGHTS
Sec. 1973 - Denial or abridgement of right to vote on account of race or color through voting qualifications or prerequisites; establishment of violation

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§1973. Denial or abridgement of right to vote on account of race or color through voting qualifications or prerequisites; establishment of violation

(a) No voting qualification or prerequisite to voting or standard, practice, or procedure shall be imposed or applied by any State or political subdivision in a manner which results in a denial or abridgement of the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color, or in contravention of the guarantees set forth in section 1973b(f)(2) of this title, as provided in subsection (b) of this section.

(b) A violation of subsection (a) of this section is established if, based on the totality of circumstances, it is shown that the political processes leading to nomination or election in the State or political subdivision are not equally open to participation by members of a class of citizens protected by subsection (a) of this section in that its members have less opportunity than other members of the electorate to participate in the political process and to elect representatives of their choice. The extent to which members of a protected class have been elected to office in the State or political subdivision is one circumstance which may be considered: Provided, That nothing in this section establishes a right to have members of a protected class elected in numbers equal to their proportion in the population.

(Pub. L. 89–110, title I, §2, Aug. 6, 1965, 79 Stat. 437; renumbered title I, Pub. L. 91–285, §2, June 22, 1970, 84 Stat. 314; amended Pub. L. 94–73, title II, §206, Aug. 6, 1975, 89 Stat. 402; Pub. L. 97–205, §3, June 29, 1982, 96 Stat. 134.)

Amendments

1982—Pub. L. 97–205 redesignated existing provisions as subsec. (a), struck out the comma after “voting”, substituted “in a manner which results in a denial or abridgement of” for “to deny or abridge”, inserted “, as provided in subsection (b) of this section” after “in contravention of the guarantees set forth in section 1973b(f)(2) of this title”, and added subsec. (b).

1975—Pub. L. 94–73 substituted “race or color, or in contravention of the guarantees set forth in section 1973b(f)(2) of this title” for “race or color”.

Effective Date of 1982 Amendment

Section 6 of Pub. L. 97–205 provided that: “Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the amendments made by this Act [see Short Title of 1982 Amendment note below] shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act [June 29, 1982].”

Short Title of 1982 Amendment

Section 1 of Pub. L. 97–205 provided: “That this Act [enacting section 1973aa–6 of this title, amending this section and sections 1973b and 1973aa–1a of this title, and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section and sections 1971, 1973b, 1973aa–1a, and 1973aa–6 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1982’.”

Short Title of 1970 Amendment

Pub. L. 91–285, §1, June 22, 1970, 84 Stat. 314, provided: “That this Act [designating existing provisions of Pub. L. 89–110 as subchapter I–A, enacting subchapters I–B and I–C of this chapter, and amending sections 1973b and 1973c of this title] may be cited as the ‘Voting Rights Act Amendments of 1970’.”

Short Title

Section 1 of Pub. L. 89–110 provided that: “This Act [enacting subchapters I–A, I–B, and I–C of this chapter and amending section 1971 of this title] shall be known as the ‘Voting Rights Act of 1965’.”

Separability

Section 208 of Pub. L. 94–73 provided that: “If any amendments made by this Act [enacting sections 1973aa–1a and 1973aa–5 of this title, amending this section and sections 1973a to 1973d, 1973h, 1973i, 1973k, 1973l, 1973aa, 1973aa–2, 1973aa–3, 1973bb, 1973bb–1 of this title, and repealing sections 1973bb–2 to 1973bb–4 of this title] or the application of any provision thereof to any person or circumstance is judicially determined to be invalid, the remainder of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 [this subchapter and subchapters I–B and I–C of this chapter], or the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected by such determination.”

Section Referred to in Other Sections

This section is referred to in section 1973j of this title.