Fact Check: Was the Voting Rights Act created because of Democratic racial gerrymandering?

Media Bias Fact Check (MBFC) publishes daily vetted fact checks from verified IFCN-approved sources. Each claim is independently reviewed for accuracy and context.


Claimant: Byron Donalds (R)


Claim: Congress passed the 1965 Voting Rights Act because “the Democrat party at the time, especially in the South, were racially gerrymandering districts to disenfranchise Black voters.”


Rating: FALSE


Explanation: The Voting Rights Act was created to enforce the 15th Amendment and combat barriers such as literacy tests, poll taxes, property tests, intimidation, and violence. Racial gerrymandering existed, but historians say it was not the primary reason for the law’s creation.


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Date: 05/10/2026


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Last Updated on May 10, 2026 by Media Bias Fact Check