June 25, 2013
The Supreme Court declared unconstitutional key sections of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, eliminating what most experts regard as the crucial enforcement mechanism of the law. Section 5 requires certain states or local jurisdictions to obtain pre-clearance from the Justice Department about any change in voter registration requirements or voting district composition. Section 4b prescribes the formula to be used to determine which jurisdictions are covered by Section 5. The Supreme Court held that the 4b formula was based on data that are 40 years old and therefore no longer relevant to current conditions.
