Question

what did the voting rights act accomplish?

it lowered the national voting age.
it abolished poll taxes and literacy tests.
it gave women the right to vote.

Explanation:

Identify the core historical event

The question asks about the accomplishments of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States.

Analyze the first option

Using the Voting Rights History knowledge point
The first option states it lowered the national voting age. This was actually accomplished by the Twenty-Sixth Amendment in 1971, not the Voting Rights Act.

Analyze the second option

Using the Poll Taxes knowledge point
The second option states it abolished poll taxes and literacy tests. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 banned literacy tests and directed the Attorney General to challenge poll taxes, which were fully outlawed in state elections by the Supreme Court in 1966 (following the 24th Amendment's ban in federal elections).

Analyze the third option

Using the Voting Rights History knowledge point
The third option states it gave women the right to vote. Women's suffrage was established nationally by the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920, decades before the Voting Rights Act.

Determine the correct choice

The second option is the correct historical accomplishment of the Voting Rights Act.

Answer:

• It lowered the national voting age.
• It abolished poll taxes and literacy tests. (Correct answer)
• It gave women the right to vote.