Complex sentence: At the turn of the century, Texas followed other southern states in passage of laws that made voter registration and elections more complicated, and acted to disfranchise most blacks, and many poor whites and Latinos, a condition that persisted into the 1960s.
Split into simpler sentences: At the turn of the century, Texas followed other southern states in passage of laws that made voter registration and elections more complicated. In practical terms, the provisions disfranchised most blacks, and many poor whites and Latinos, a condition that persisted into the 1960s.