Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 78.djvu/283

 78 STAT. ]

PUBLIC LAW 88-352-JULY 2, 1964

241

Public Law 88-352 AN ACT To enforce the constitutional right to vote, to confer jurisdiction upon the district courts of the United States to provide injunctive relief against discrimination in public accommodations, to authorize the Attorney General to institute suits to protect constitutional rights in public facilities and public education, to extend the Commission on Civil Rights, to prevent discrimination in federally assisted programs, to establish a Commission on Equal Employment Opportunity, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Vnited States of America in Congress assembledy That this Act may be cited as the "Civil Eights Act of 1964".

July 2, 1964 [H. R. 7152]

Civil Rights Act of 1964.

TITLE I—VOTING R I G H T S SEC. 101. Section 2004 of the Revised Statutes (42 U.S.C. 1971), as amended by section 131 of the Civil Rights Act of 1957 (71 Stat. 637), and as further amended by section 601 of the Civil Rights Act of 1960 (74 Stat. 90), is further amended as follows: (a) Insert " 1 " after " (a) " in subsection (a) and add at the end of subsection (a) the following new paragraphs: " (2) No person acting under color of law shall— " (A) in determining whether any individual is qualified under State law or laws to vote in any Federal election, apply any standard, practice, or procedure different from the standards, practices, or procedures applied under such law or laws to other individuals within the same county, parish, or similar political subdivision who have been found by State officials to be qualified to vote; " (B) deny the right of any individual to vote in any Federal election because of an error or omission on any record or paper relating to any application, registration, or other act requisite to voting, if such error or omission is not material in determining whether such individual is qualified under State law to vote in such election; or " (C) employ any literacy test as a qualification for voting in any Federal election unless (i) such test is administered to each individual and is conducted wholly in writing, and (ii) a certified copy of the test and of the answers given by the individual is furnished to him within twenty-five days of the submission of his request made within the period of time during which records and papers are required to be retained and preserved pursuant to title III of the Civil-Rights Act of 1960 (42 U.S.C. 197474e; 74 Stat. 88): Provided, however, That the Attorney General may enter into agreements with appropriate State or local authorities that preparation, conduct, and maintenance of such tests in accordance with the provisions of applicable State or local law, including such special provisions as are necessary in the preparation, conduct, and maintenance of such tests for persons who are blind or otherwise physically handicapped, meet the purposes of this subparagraph and constitute compliance therewith. " (3) For purposes of this subsection— " (A) the term 'vote' shall have the same meaning as in subsection (e) of this section; " (B) the phrase 'literacy test' includes any test of the ability to read, write, understand, or interpret any matter." (b) Insert immediately following the period at the end of the first sentence of subsection (c) the following new sentence: "If in any such proceeding literacy is a relevant fact there shall be a rebuttable

Operation and enforcement.

Voting qualifications.

Registration, etc.

Literacy t e s t s. Records.

Attorney General. Agreements with State and local authorities.

"Vote." "Literacy test."

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