WASHINGTON — The voting law that became a major turning point in black Americans' struggle for equal rights and political power is now outdated, the Supreme Court says. Whether that's a marker of racial progress or proof of backsliding will be hotly debated. But neither side denies that remarkable changes were wrought through the nearly half-century-old Voting Rights Act. As the issue moves to Congress, a look at the law's history: --- 15th AMENDMENT The right to vote, for American men at least, was supposed to be guaranteed when the 15th Amendment was added to the U.S. Constitution after the Civil War. The amendment says: "The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not...
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