Would You Pass Louisiana's 1963 Voting Eligibility Test?

In 1963, Louisiana didn’t just require voters to be citizens; they also had to pass a test. But this test wasn’t really about literacy or education—it was designed to keep Black citizens from voting. It was required for anyone who couldn’t prove a fifth-grade education, which disproportionately impacted people of color and poor white citizens. The 1963 Louisiana literacy test became infamous for its impossible, confusing questions and was a key tool in a long history of voter suppression.

The test had 30 questions, each more confusing than the last. Voters were asked to “draw a line around the number or letter of this sentence” and “write every other word in the first line and print every third word.” Imagine trying to do that under pressure, with no mistakes allowed. Even college graduates today would struggle to pass this “test.” Another factor in passing or failing the test was the time requirement – registrants had to respond to 30 complicated questions in 10 minutes, a time frame which could easily be waived for white voters.

There were limitless ways to fail this test, and the registrar, with the blessings of a white controlled county government, exercised complete power over the success or failure of every applicant.

Let's see if you would pass

• Remember this test also had a 10 minute time limit

• Even a single mistake would have meant automatic failure to vote in 1963 😲

Why were the questions so strange? To control who got to vote. The questions were hard on purpose. One mistake meant automatic failure, and Black citizens were often the only ones asked to take it. Many white citizens didn’t have to take the test at all—they were simply allowed to register without question. The real purpose of the test wasn’t to measure literacy but to keep elections segregated by stopping Black people from voting 😡.

During the Jim Crow era in the South, literacy tests were just one tool in a series of barriers that aimed to keep Black Americans out of voting booths. Poll taxes, grandfather clauses, and other methods also kept voting within white communities. And since only white registrars graded these tests, the outcome was left to their interpretation. They could choose to pass some people and fail others. The rules weren’t fair, and people’s right to vote was left up to a few powerful officials.

This literacy test highlights a dark chapter in American history. Even though the 15th Amendment guaranteed Black men the right to vote, loopholes like these tests made that right nearly impossible to access for millions. The 1965 Voting Rights Act later outlawed such tests, but the struggle for fair voting access continues. The Louisiana literacy test reminds us how fragile democracy can be when voting is restricted. It also reminds us to protect voting rights so that everyone’s voice counts.