Supreme Court guts Section 5 preclearance 5-4 in Shelby County v. Holder, freeing Alabama and other covered states to change election rules without federal approval

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Shelby County v. Holder that the formula Congress used to determine which states needed federal preclearance under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act was unconstitutional. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that the coverage formula, based on 1960s and 1970s discrimination data, was 'based on 40-year-old facts having no logical relationship to the present day.' Without a valid coverage formula, Section 5 preclearance became unenforceable. Within hours of the ruling, Texas, North Carolina, Alabama, and other formerly covered states began implementing voter ID laws and redistricting changes that had been blocked under Section 5.