North Carolina
A dated list of changes to how Americans vote: district maps, polling places and drop boxes, voting laws and rules, and courts and election officials. Each entry says who did what and when, shows what became of it, and links to the page it rests on. Attempts that failed are listed as failed. Entries that rest on a news report name the outlet.
This is the state view: events recorded for North Carolina, then national events that apply here. See the national timeline.
In North Carolina
1969
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Supreme Court rules Gaston County may not reinstate its literacy test
In Gaston County v. United States, decided June 2, 1969, the Court affirmed a three-judge court's refusal to restore the county's literacy test, which had been suspended under the Voting Rights Act. The district court held that the county had not shown its use of the test, "in the context of its historic maintenance of segregated and unequal schools, did not discriminatorily deprive Negroes of the franchise."
Source last checked Oct 20, 2026
1966
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Thirteen more North Carolina counties are added to preclearance coverage in 1966
The Justice Department's table lists the following counties as covered based on a November 1, 1964 trigger date, with determinations published in the Federal Register in January to March 1966 (31 Fed. Reg. 19, 3317 and 5081): Martin, Washington, Camden, Perquimans, Beaufort, Bladen, Cleveland, Gaston, Guilford, Harnett, Lee, Rockingham, Union.
Counties: Martin County, Washington County, Camden County, Perquimans County, Beaufort County, Bladen County, Cleveland County, Gaston County, Guilford County, Harnett County, Lee County, Rockingham County, Union County
Source last checked Oct 20, 2026
1965
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Twenty-six North Carolina counties become subject to Voting Rights Act preclearance
The Justice Department's table of previously covered jurisdictions lists 26 North Carolina counties as covered based on a November 1, 1964 trigger date, with the determination published at 30 Fed. Reg. 9897 on August 7, 1965: Anson, Bertie, Caswell, Chowan, Craven, Cumberland, Edgecombe, Franklin, Gates, Granville, Greene, Halifax, Hertford, Hoke, Lenoir, Nash, Northampton, Onslow, Pasquotank, Person, Pitt, Robeson, Scotland, Vance, Wayne, Wilson. The state itself was not covered.
Counties: Anson County, Bertie County, Caswell County, Chowan County, Craven County, Cumberland County, Edgecombe County, Franklin County, Gates County, Granville County, Greene County, Halifax County, Hertford County, Hoke County, Lenoir County, Nash County, Northampton County, Onslow County, Pasquotank County, Person County, Pitt County, Robeson County, Scotland County, Vance County, Wayne County, Wilson County
Source last checked Oct 20, 2026
Nationwide
1969
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Supreme Court decides Allen v. State Board of Elections
On March 3, 1969, the U.S. Supreme Court held that "Private litigants may invoke the jurisdiction of the district courts to obtain relief under § 5" of the Voting Rights Act, according to the Court's syllabus.
Source last checked Oct 23, 2026
1967
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Congress requires single-member congressional districts (Public Law 90-196)
Public Law 90-196, approved December 14, 1967, provides that in each state entitled to more than one Representative "there shall be established by law a number of districts equal to the number of Representatives to which such State is so entitled," with "no district to elect more than one Representative."
Source last checked Oct 20, 2026
1966
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Supreme Court decides Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections
On March 24, 1966, the U.S. Supreme Court held that "a State's conditioning of the right to vote on the payment of a fee or tax violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment." The case concerned Virginia's poll tax.
Source last checked Oct 23, 2026
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Supreme Court decides South Carolina v. Katzenbach
On March 7, 1966, the U.S. Supreme Court decided South Carolina's challenge to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The Court held that "the sections of the Act properly before this Court are a valid effectuation of the Fifteenth Amendment."
Source last checked Oct 23, 2026
1965
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Voting Rights Act of 1965 signed into law
President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law on August 6, 1965. The National Archives says the act outlawed the discriminatory voting practices adopted in many southern states after the Civil War.
Source last checked Oct 29, 2026
How this timeline is built
Every entry rests on at least one source that was opened and read, and that source states the date and the fact. Courts, legislatures, election offices, the Justice Department, the Census Bureau, the Federal Register and Congress.gov come first. A news report is used only when no official page states the fact, and it is labeled with the outlet's name. Encyclopedias are not used as sources. History starts in 1965 with the Voting Rights Act. County names come from the Census Bureau's 2024 Gazetteer. Congressional district numbers are those in use for the 2026 election; an event is tagged to a district only when its source names that congressional district.
When a later event changes an earlier one, such as a law later struck down, both entries are listed and point to each other. This page does not predict outcomes or say which party a change helps. U.S. House maps for 2026 · Back to the 2026 voting center.