In its 2013 decision, the Supreme Court found that Congress had not done enough to justify continued vigilance in historically discriminatory jurisdictions. The parts of the act impacted by the ruling covered the Southern states of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia, as well as Alaska, Arizona and parts of seven other states. It required them to receive “pre-clearance” from the U.S. attorney general or federal judges before making any changes to election or voting laws.
