Strom Thurmond voted against the Voting Rights Act of 1965 after switching from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party.
Posted by Deadline: White House, Checked
- Sources
- 6 support1 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 80%
Deadline: White HouseOct 28, 2026
Multiple sources state that Thurmond switched from the Democrats to the Republicans in 1964 and voted against the 1965 Voting Rights Act, so the switch came before the vote. The claim's 'Republican Party' wording is resolved from the post's own reference to Republican senators, and no source contradicts it.
What was said
… Only one. The Republicans in the United States Senate voted 30 to one in favor of the Voting Rights Act. The one no vote was Strom Thurmond, who had switched from the Democrats. The reason I'm mentioning this is to just remind people how broad and deep the history of voting rights is, and how broad and deep the bipartisan support for voting rights was in this country. …
Deadline: White House · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. Wikipedia and Wikiwand state that Thurmond voted against both the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and that he left the Democratic Party for the Republicans in 1964.[2][3]
Supports. The South Carolina Encyclopedia says Thurmond switched parties in 1964 and opposed the 1965 Voting Rights Act, as did every other Deep South senator.[4]
Supports. Bomsey's description of Thurmond says he switched to the Republican Party in 1964 and voted against the Voting Rights Act of 1965.[5]
Supports. PolitiFact and the Fence Post both date Thurmond's switch to the Republican Party to September 1964, which is before the August 1965 Senate vote, so the 'after switching' sequence holds.[6][7]
Context. The AP fact-check concerns a different Thurmond claim about the Civil Rights Act and does not address the Voting Rights Act vote.[1]
Sources
7 sources: 1 fact-checker, 6 not rated
- 1NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn't happen this week | AP Newsapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 2Strom Thurmond - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org · not rated · cited for: supports
- 3Strom Thurmond - Wikiwandwikiwand.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 4Thurmond, James Strom | South Carolina Encyclopediascencyclopedia.org · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5Thurmond, Strom | Edward N. Bomsey Autographs, Inc.bomsey-autographs.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 6PolitiFact | Did Democrats want expansion of slavery, while ...dev1.politifact.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 7Legend vs. factthefencepost.com · not rated · cited for: supports
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post