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Stephen J. Pollak discusses his involvement in the drafting of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. He recounts a story told by Charlie Ferris, an aide to Majority Leader Mike Mansfield, about how Ferris was tasked with crafting a one-page voting rights bill after Mansfield was miffed that Attorney General Katzenbach had met with Senator Everett Dirksen without consulting him.

Pollak then describes his own role in the legislative process, working with the Senate on the bill. He participated in meetings with staff from Senators Dirksen and Mansfield, as well as others, to review and revise the draft bill. Pollak acted as a scribe, using scissors and scotch tape to reorganize and edit the provisions.

He notes that the Dirksen representatives were committed to having an effective Voting Rights Act, but wanted to make changes to the bill's appearance to allow the Republican Party to claim a major role in its crafting. A significant substantive change made during this process was the compromise on the poll tax, with the bill ultimately directing the Attorney General to bring lawsuits to strike down the poll tax as unconstitutional. The revised bill was introduced by Senators Mansfield and Dirksen, adopted by the Senate, concurred in by the House, and signed by President Johnson on August 6, 1965.