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In a major decision the United States Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional Section 4 of the landmark Voting Rights Act. In a 5 to 4 decision in Shelby V. Holder Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, ruled that the Section 4 of the Act, the “preclearance requirement” was illegal.  The Court though went out of its way to say that the rest of the Voting Rights law remains intact. Amy Howe, editor of the Peabody Award winning chronicler of Supreme Court Decisions SCOTUS Blog commented on today’s ruling.  Wrote Howe: “Today the Court issued its decision in Shelby County v. Holder, the challenge to the constitutionality of the preclearance provisions of the Voting Rights Act. That portion of the Act was designed to prevent discrimination in voting by requiring all state and local governments with a history of voting discrimination to get approval from the federal government before making any changes to their voting laws or procedures, no matter how small. In an opinion by Chief Justice John Roberts that was joined by Justices Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, and Alito, the Court did not invalidate the principle that preclearance can be required. But much more importantly, it held that Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, which sets out the formula that is used to determine which state and local governments must comply with Section 5’s preapproval requirement, is unconstitutional and can no longer be used. Thus, although Section 5 survives, it will have no actual effect unless and until Congress can enact a new statute to determine who should be covered by it.” Indiana was never covered by the Voting Rights Act Section 4 preclearance requirements.  So the Court’s decision won’t have an impact on voting here in Indiana. Click the Link to Read the Full Court Opinion and Dissents in the Voting Rights Act case. SUPREME COURT DECISION ON VOTING RIGHTS ACT