Shelby County v. Holder

The Court struck down the Voting Rights Act's coverage formula, ending federal preclearance requirements.

Overview

Section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act required jurisdictions with histories of discrimination, mostly in the South, to obtain federal approval before changing voting rules. Chief Justice Roberts, for a 5-4 majority, held that the coverage formula rested on decades-old data incompatible with current conditions and the equal sovereignty of states. Justice Ginsburg's dissent likened discarding preclearance to throwing away an umbrella in a rainstorm. Preclearance effectively ended immediately, prompting waves of state election law changes and repeated unsuccessful attempts by Congress to enact an updated formula.