Live Updates: SCOTUS arguments on Louisiana redistricting case that could undermine the Voting Rights Act

The case before the Supreme Court on Wednesday involves what is known as Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, originally passed by Congress in 1965 and signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson.

The provision originally prohibited any “voting qualification or prerequisite to voting, or standard, practice, or procedure” that sought to “deny or abridge the right of any citizen of the United States to vote because of race or color.”

In a 1980 decision, the Supreme Court effectively found that only intentional discrimination violated the law. This decision attracted strong criticism. The New York Times wrote at the time that the result was “the biggest step backwards in civil rights to come from the Nixon Court.”

Two years later, Congress amended the provision to pass laws that had a discriminatory effect, whether or not opponents could prove their intent. The new language, crafted by the late Sen. Bob Dole, a Kansas Republican, banned any voting practice that “results in a denial or abridgement of the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on grounds of race or color.”

This subtle difference—the addition of the words “results in”—had enormous consequences, because it allowed voting rights groups to challenge voting rights laws. effect of discrimination even if these groups could not demonstrate intention. Now, more than four decades later, the Court questions whether Congress had the constitutional authority to do so.

President Ronald Reagan signed the legislative changes in 1982.