2013 · Constitutional law
Shelby County v. Holder
Voting rights · Federalism
The question
Could the Voting Rights Act’s existing coverage formula still determine which jurisdictions needed federal preclearance?
The outcome
The Court invalidated Section 4(b)’s coverage formula. It did not invalidate Section 2 or decide the validity of Section 5 itself; without a valid coverage formula, Section 5 could not operate on its previous basis.
See the votes & context
- Majority (5)
- John G. Roberts, Jr., Antonin Scalia, Anthony M. Kennedy, Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito, Jr.
- Dissent (4)
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen G. Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan
Only participating justices are assigned votes. Separate writings and partial joins can differ from the overall judgment.