Which case upheld the Voting Rights Act's Section 5 preclearance provision?

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

Answer: (B)

This question centers on the Voting Rights Act’s Section 5 preclearance and whether the Supreme Court upheld it. In South Carolina v. Katzenbach (1966), the Court upheld the Act’s constitutionality, including the Section 5 preclearance requirement. It ruled that Congress acted within its powers under the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to remedy and prevent racial discrimination in voting, and that requiring covered jurisdictions to obtain federal approval before changing voting laws is a valid, remedial tool to protect minority voting rights. The decision rests on the Legislature’s findings that discrimination persisted and that preclearance was an appropriate means to prevent discriminatory changes. The other listed cases address different voting issues or, later, modify the regime in ways that do not affirm Section 5 itself.