The United States Supreme Court later this year is expected to rule on whether Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act is unconstitutional.
The case is before the high court due to a challenge by Shelby County, Alabama, which argues the section is unconstitutional because the calculation — based on voting turnout and registration data from the early 1970s — used by the federal government to determine which states must comply with the law is outdated.
Shelby County argues that the overt methods of voter intimidation to block black residents in the county and the state from exercising their right to vote no longer exist in the state.
Section 5 requires several states, including Georgia, to have any changes to its voting practices approved by the U.S. Justice Department. Those states were chosen based on their history of blatant voter intimidation practices towards its minority citizens.