Which case upheld the federal government's authority to require changes to state voting laws under the Voting Rights Act's Section 5?

• A. Shelby County v. Holder
• B. South Carolina v. Katzenbach
• C. Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections
• D. Wesberry v. Sanders

Answer: (B)

The key idea here is Congress’s power, under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, to require certain states or jurisdictions to obtain federal approval before changing voting laws in order to prevent discriminatory practices. South Carolina v. Katzenbach is the case that confirms this authority. In 1966, the Supreme Court held that the preclearance requirement of Section 5—a rule that changes to voting laws in covered jurisdictions must be approved by the federal government before taking effect—falls within Congress’s power to enforce the Fifteenth Amendment and to remedy past discrimination in voting. The decision treated preclearance as a legitimate and constitutional tool to protect the right to vote.

Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections, by contrast, dealt with poll taxes and equal protection, not with preclearance or Section 5. Wesberry v. Sanders addressed one person, one vote in congressional districts. Shelby County v. Holder later struck down the particular coverage formula that determined which jurisdictions were subject to preclearance, but the question asks which case upheld the federal authority in Section 5, which is South Carolina v. Katzenbach.