RALEIGH – Today, in a 5-4 ruling in Shelby County v. Holder, the United States Supreme Court ruled that a key provision of the 1965 Voting Rights Act cannot be enforced until Congress revisits the formula used to determine which states and localities require federal approval to change voting laws.

Jennifer Rudinger, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina, released the following statement:

“The Voting Rights Act is one of the most important civil rights laws in American history and has played a vital role in protecting the voting rights of North Carolinians from its passage in 1965 to the present. With attempts to suppress voting becoming more common and more sophisticated across the country, and North Carolina’s legislature poised to approve legislation that will make it harder for thousands of eligible state voters to cast a ballot by requiring forms of ID that many North Carolinians lack and cannot easily obtain, the need for such protections is more urgent than ever. Unless Congress acts promptly to make sure that the federal government has the tools it needs to protect voting rights, today’s decision could leave many North Carolinians vulnerable to attempts to exclude them from the democratic process. We urge Congress to act without delay.”

More information about Shelby County v. Holder is available here: http://www.aclu.org/voting-rights/shelby-county-v-holder