Florida Department of State Praises Voting Rights Act Ruling

In a historic ruling that signals an end to more than 40 years of federal elections law, the U.S. Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional sections of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that require certain states and other jurisdictions to get federal preclearance before changing their voting laws.

Five of those jurisdictions are in Florida.

Chris Cate, communications director for the Florida Department of State, praised the decision in a statement Tuesday afternoon:

"The Supreme Court ruling impacts five Florida counties (Collier, Hardee, Hendry, Hillsborough,and Monroe) who, for nearly four decades, have had to get federal approval before implementing any changes to election law due to a coverage formula from 1972, which Chief Justice Roberts said in his opinion has no logical relation to the present day.Florida remains very supportive of the Voting Rights Act, as we were before this ruling, but we are pleased that all of Floridas 67 counties can now implement election law at the same time."