Enabling many of these changes was a 2013 Supreme Court decision, Shelby County v. Holder, that put an end to the most biting section of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. That section required nine states (Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas, and Virginia) as well as some forty counties (in states including California, Florida, New York, and North Carolina) to gain preclearance from the federal Department of Justice for changes to their voting rules.
Section 1.
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on…