Seeking to eliminate discriminatory voting practices that had disenfranchised millions of citizens, _____ extended federal oversight to jurisdictions ...

Let's begin by understanding the meaning of this sentence. We'll use our understanding of pause points and segment the sentence as shown - understanding and assimilating the meaning of each segment bit by bit!

Sentence Structure

• Seeking to eliminate discriminatory voting practices
• that had disenfranchised millions of citizens,
• [CHOICE VARIES]
• extended federal oversight to jurisdictions
• with documented histories of voter suppression.

Understanding the Meaning

Let's start reading from the beginning:

'Seeking to eliminate discriminatory voting practices that had disenfranchised millions of citizens,'

This opening phrase describes someone or something that wanted to eliminate discriminatory voting practices—practices that had prevented millions of citizens from voting.

This is where we have the blank. Let's look at the choices:

• Choice A: the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and its subsequent amendments
• Choice B: Congress enacted the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which
• Choice C: it was through the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that Congress
• Choice D: the passage by Congress of the Voting Rights Act of 1965

To see what works here, let's read the rest of the sentence and understand what it's saying!

After the blank, the sentence continues:
'extended federal oversight to jurisdictions with documented histories of voter suppression.'

So something or someone "extended federal oversight" to areas that had histories of preventing people from voting.

Now, what do we notice about the structure here?

The opening phrase "Seeking to eliminate discriminatory voting practices..." is a describing phrase—it's telling us about whoever or whatever comes next.

Here's the key: This describing phrase needs to be immediately followed by the thing it's describing. And logically, the description has to fit.

Let's think about it:

• "Seeking" describes an action—someone or something trying to do something
• Who can "seek to eliminate" discriminatory practices?
  • Congress can seek to do something—it's a governmental body made up of people who make decisions and take actions
  • But can "the Voting Rights Act" seek to do something? No—an Act is a law, a document. It doesn't seek or want things. It's not an actor.
  • Can "the passage" seek to do something? No—"passage" is just the noun form describing when something was passed. It can't seek.

So we need a choice that puts "Congress" right after the comma—because Congress is what was seeking to eliminate discriminatory voting practices.

The correct answer is Choice B: "Congress enacted the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which"

This makes the sentence read:
"Seeking to eliminate discriminatory voting practices that had disenfranchised millions of citizens, Congress enacted the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which extended federal oversight to jurisdictions with documented histories of voter suppression."

Now it makes perfect sense:

• Congress was the one seeking to eliminate discriminatory practices
• Congress enacted (passed) the Voting Rights Act
• That Act (the "which" refers to the Act) extended federal oversight

GRAMMAR CONCEPT APPLIED

Matching Opening Descriptive Phrases with What They Describe

When a sentence begins with a descriptive phrase (called a modifier or participial phrase in grammar terms), that phrase must be immediately followed by the noun or subject it logically describes. The description has to make sense with what follows.

The Pattern:

• [Descriptive phrase], [the thing being described] + [rest of sentence]

Example 1:

• Wrong: "Running late for the meeting, the car wouldn't start."
• "The car" can't be "running late"—only a person can
• Correct: "Running late for the meeting, Sarah found that her car wouldn't start."
• "Sarah" is running late—this makes logical sense

Example 2:

• Wrong: "Having studied for weeks, the test was easy."
• "The test" didn't study—a person did
• Correct: "Having studied for weeks, Maria found the test easy."
• "Maria" studied—this makes logical sense

In our question:

• "Seeking to eliminate discriminatory voting practices" can only describe Congress (who can seek to do something)
• It cannot describe "the Act" or "the passage" (things that cannot seek)
• Therefore, "Congress" must immediately follow the comma

The key is always asking: Does the description logically fit the thing that follows it?