The justices voted 5-4 to stop the enforcement of a requirement in the 1965 Voting Rights Act that forced 15 states with a history of discrimination to get Washington's approval before changing the way they hold elections.The majority judges argued that strides in racial equality meant the special law was no longer needed for the historically racist areas.
However Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg argued that the improvements only happened because of the landmark 1965 Act.
"Throwing out preclearance … is like throwing away your umbrella in a rainstorm because you are not getting wet," she said.
She also pointed out that Congress had reauthorised the law in 2006, deciding with overwhelming bipartisan support that "40 years has not been a sufficient amount of time to eliminate the vestiges of discrimination."
"Today's Supreme Court decision is a major setback to our democracy and the voting rights of real Americans," declared Wade Henderson, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, also on the media call.
"We cannot allow discrimination at the ballot box and must prevent minorities from having their votes purged, packed, gerrymandered and redistricted away, Henderson declared. "No one should be fooled by the Pollyannaish fantasy that voting discrimination no longer exists."
Henderson said that he is still hopeful about the current situation, however, even after the ruling.
"What you have here is the Supreme Court overriding the authority of Congress. The court disregarded all the work Congress did back in 2006 when it reauthorized the Voting Rights Act with big bipartisan majorities - 98 votes in the Senate and more than 350 votes in the House."
President Barack Obama was said to be "deeply disappointed" by the decision, but said it wasn't the end of efforts to halt voter discrimination.
He urged Congress to pass new legislation to ensure equal access to polls.
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