 Weltner voted in favor of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.He also supported quick implementation of the United States Supreme Court decision to outlaw racial segregation in public schools, the 1954 decision "Brown v. Board of Education".In 1966, Weltner refused to run for re-election when the state Democratic Party demanded that he sign a loyalty oath that would have required him to support Lester Maddox, an ardent segregationist who was running for governor against a Republican U.S. representative, Howard Callaway.