1965
Voting Rights Act of 1965
Bans literacy tests and other devices used to deny the vote on account of race, and requires covered jurisdictions to obtain federal approval before changing voting rules.
Source: National Archives
Shelby County v. Holder 2013
Was the Voting Rights Act’s formula for which jurisdictions needed federal approval of voting changes still constitutional?
570 U.S. 529 (2013)Voting and elections
- The question
- Was the Voting Rights Act’s formula for which jurisdictions needed federal approval of voting changes still constitutional?
- What the Court held
- No. The coverage formula in Section 4(b), based on decades-old data, was unconstitutional.
- The vote
- 5–4
- Read the opinion
- 570 U.S. 529 (2013), full text
This page summarizes the Court’s judgment in neutral terms. The opinion, concurrences and dissents are the authority; read them for the reasoning.