Georgia v. Ashcroft, Attorney General

In this case, we decide whether Georgia’s State Senate redistricting plan should have been precleared under § 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, 79 Stat. 439, as renumbered and amended, 42 U. S. C. § 1973c. Section 5 requires that before a covered jurisdiction’s new voting “standard, prac*466tice, or procedure” goes into effect, it must be precleared by either the Attorney General of the United States or a federal court to ensure that the change “does not have the purpose and will not have the effect of denying or abridging the right to vote on account of race or color.” 42 U. S. C. § 1973c.…