On September 16, 1964, Senator Strom Thurmond announced to a statewide television audience that he had switched parties from the Democrats to the Republicans, saying the Democratic "party of our fathers is dead." He said it had "forsaken the people to become the party of minority groups, power-hungry union leaders, political bosses, and businessmen looking for government contracts and favors". The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed the following year, restoring the ability of minorities to vote through federal oversight of registration and electoral processes.