The 1965 Voting Rights Act is misleading and deceptive in the sense that it didn’t actually guarantee an affirmative “individual right to vote,” but only outlawed discrimination in voting on the basis of RACE.
Most sections in the act are permanent, and the temporary sections were renewed in 1970, 1975, 1982, and most recently in 2006 (which became effective on August 6, 2007 for another 25 years).
After the Civil War, between 1865 and 1870 when the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments were added to the Constitution advancing the concepts of equal protection, due process and voting rights, women wanted to be included with African Americans in terms of non-discrimination in voting. However, most black abolitionists, including Frederick Douglas, objected to including voting protections for women in the 14th and 15th Amendments. Thus women remained officially and constitutionally disenfranchised for another fifty years. The 15th Amendment didn’t help black women.