Supreme Court strikes down key section of Voting Rights Act

By a 5-4 vote Tuesday the U.S. Supreme Court freed states and localities "with a history of racial discrimination from having to clear changes in voting procedures with the federal government," Richard Wolf and Brad Heath report for USA Today. The restriction had applied to nine states and parts of six others, mostly in the South. (Getty Images photo by Chip Somodevilla)

Chief Justice John Roberts said Congress failed to update the formula it used to determine which states and counties would be covered by that requirement to take account of changing circumstances in the South, Wolf and Heath report. That failure, Roberts wrote, left the court "with no choice" but to declare Congress' formula unconstitutional. Roberts wrote "our decision in no way affects the permanent, nationwide ban on racial discrimination in voting. Congress may draft another formula based on current conditions."

The Voting Rights Act was passed in 1965, and included Section 5, which required certain states and municipalities to get federal permission before making changes in voting practices, Wolf and Heath report. Section 5 has since been amended to add more areas, or subtract areas that have been free of discrimination for 10 years. (Read more) For more background, click here.