Congress amends Section 2 of Voting Rights Act to add results test, reversing Mobile v. Bolden

Congress amends Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act on June 29, 1982, overturning the Supreme Court's 1980 ruling in Mobile v. Bolden, which had held that plaintiffs must prove intentional racial discrimination to win a Section 2 claim. The 1982 amendment creates a "results test," allowing plaintiffs to win if a voting practice results in minority voters having less opportunity to participate in the political process — regardless of whether discrimination was intentional. The same reauthorization extends Section 5 preclearance for 25 more years. The results test shifts most Section 2 vote-dilution litigation away from preclearance lawsuits and toward direct court challenges.