Reaction to Supreme Court Ruling on Voting Rights Act

The U.S. supreme court Tuesday struck down a portion of the federal voting rights act.  That Congress had passed in 1965 to end discriminatory voting practices in Deep South states.  Since the passage of the Voting Rights Act, Alabama has been required to seek federal approval of most changes to its voting laws, to ensure that racial bias doesn't creep back into the system.  Shelby County took the matter to court, arguing that that approval process, known as "preclearance," was no longer needed.  The high court on Tuesday upheld the preclearance requirement, but threw out the law's system for determining which states require preclearance. Within three hours of the ruling, Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange said the ruling seems to mean Alabama's voting changes are no longer subject to federal review.  Both Strange and secretary of state Beth Chapman said the decision is good for Alabama and insured that  voting discrimination is and will not be tolerated in Alabama.  Alabama currently has at least one major voting law — a requirement that voters produce a photo ID at the polls — awaiting preclearance.  Government officials in both state and local governments are affected by the change but are uncertain exactly what impact the supreme court ruling will have until their attorneys research the issue.