Shelby County v. Holder

Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act determined which jurisdictions required federal preapproval under § 5 before changing voting procedures, based on a formula reflecting 40-year-old voter-registration disparities; by 2004, voter-registration rates between white and African American citizens in covered jurisdictions had become nearly equal, and Shelby County (plaintiff) sued the federal government (defendant) seeking a declaration that §§ 4(b) and 5 were unconstitutional.