The National Voting Rights Act of 1965 ( ) outlawed the requirement that would-be voters in the United States take literacy tests to qualify to register to vote, and it provided for federal registration of voters in areas that had less than 50% of eligible minority voters registered. The Act also provided for Department of Justice oversight to registration, and the Department's approval for any change in voting law in districts that had used a "device" to limit voting and in which less than 50% of the population was registered to vote in 1964. It was signed in 1965, and signed for a 25 year extension by President George W. Bush on July 27, 2006.

While the Act is often considered a landmark in civil rights legislation, it has been criticized by some (especially during talks of renewal in 2006) as a bill that has achieved its goal of minority voting and now has become an overreach of federal power or too demanding of certain states.