Section 4(b)
E58948
Section 4(b) is the provision of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that established the coverage formula used to determine which jurisdictions were subject to federal preclearance before changing their voting laws.
Observed surface forms (1)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 | 0 |
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf | statutory provision ⓘ |
| aimsToPrevent |
implementation of discriminatory voting changes without federal review
ⓘ
racial discrimination in voting ⓘ |
| alsoKnownAs | coverage formula of the Voting Rights Act ⓘ |
| appliesTo |
political subdivisions with specified levels of voting discrimination
ⓘ
states with specified levels of voting discrimination ⓘ |
| appliesToJurisdictionsIn |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| authorityOverseenBy |
United States Attorney General
ⓘ
United States Department of Justice ⓘ |
| citation | 52 U.S.C. § 10303(b) ⓘ |
| constitutionalChallenge | Shelby County v. Holder ⓘ |
| countryOfJurisdiction |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| criterionIncludes |
low voter registration rates
ⓘ
low voter turnout rates ⓘ use of tests or devices as prerequisites to voting ⓘ |
| defines | coverage formula for preclearance ⓘ |
| effectOfShelbyCountyDecision | coverage formula rendered inoperative ⓘ |
| enactedBy | United States Congress ⓘ |
| enactedIn | 1965 ⓘ |
| enforcementMechanism | federal preclearance requirement under Section 5 ⓘ |
| historicalSignificance | central mechanism for targeting federal voting rights enforcement ⓘ |
| jurisdictionLevel | federal law ⓘ |
| language | English ⓘ |
| legalDomain |
civil rights law
ⓘ
election law ⓘ voting rights ⓘ |
| legalStatusAfter2013 | formally on the books but coverage formula unusable ⓘ |
| limitedByDecisionOn | June 25, 2013 ⓘ |
| linkedProvision |
Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act
ⓘ
surface form:
Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965
|
| measurementFactor |
percentage of eligible voters registered
ⓘ
percentage of eligible voters who voted ⓘ |
| measurementPeriod | historical elections prior to enactment ⓘ |
| originalCitation | 42 U.S.C. § 1973b(b) ⓘ |
| partOf | Voting Rights Act of 1965 ⓘ |
| purpose | to establish a coverage formula for federal oversight of changes to voting laws ⓘ |
| relatedTo |
Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965
ⓘ
Section 3(c) of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 ⓘ |
| requires | identification of jurisdictions with a history of voting discrimination ⓘ |
| requiresCongressionalActionToRestoreFullEffect | yes ⓘ |
| requiresCoveredJurisdictionsTo | obtain federal approval before changing voting laws ⓘ |
| requiresUpdateByCongressForUse | post-Shelby County v. Holder ⓘ |
| shortName | Section 4(b) coverage formula ⓘ |
| signedIntoLawBy | Lyndon B. Johnson ⓘ |
| targets | jurisdictions with persistent patterns of racial discrimination in voting ⓘ |
| typeOfCoverage | geographic coverage based on historical voting data ⓘ |
| usedFor | determining which jurisdictions are subject to preclearance under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act ⓘ |
| wasHeldUnconstitutionalInPartBy | Shelby County v. Holder ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.